The government is to stop overseas care workers from bringing family dependants to the UK as part of a five-point plan designed to curb immigration.

In a Commons announcement today, Home secretary, James Cleverly said care firms in England will also be required to be regulated by the CQC to sponsor visas.

Cleverly said 120,000 dependants accompanied 100,000 care workers in the year ending September 2023 with only 25% of these estimated to be in work.

The government also announced an increase in the salary threshold for overseas by a third to £38,700 from spring 2024.

People on health and social care visas will be exempt from the threshold however.

The secretary of state also ended the 20% salary discount for shortage occupations and announced t the government will be reforming the Shortage Occupation List.

A new immigration salary list will be developed with a reduced number of occupations. UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “These cruel plans spell total disaster for the NHS and social care. They benefit no one.

“Migrant workers were encouraged to come here because both sectors are critically short of staff. Hospitals and care homes simply couldn’t function without them. 

“The government is playing roulette with essential services just to placate its backbenchers and the far-right. But if ministers stopped ducking the difficult issues, and reformed social care as they’ve long promised, there wouldn’t be such a shortage of workers. 

“None of this is rocket science. Fund care properly and raise wages, and the sector becomes a more attractive place to work. But take away the migrant workers currently stopping care from going under and it collapses.”