Question
Those who come to our country and genuinely work in our care sector, looking after our elderly and vulnerable, do our country a great service. However, some are unfortunately working in poor conditions. They are exploited and underpaid partly due to the current sponsorship system. Will the Home Secretary seriously consider looking at an umbrella sponsor system, working with the Department of Health and Social Care?
Answer
I have had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. She is also very clear that conditions for employers in the care sector must improve and that there should be minimum standards in future. She is undertaking that work, and it will be part of the wider reforms to the care sector that the Government are undertaking. What I have undertaken to ensure that the immigration system reflects any changes made to improve standards in the care sector and that we will follow those changes. It would be in appropriate for us, as an immigration Department, to change licensed routes ourselves without the wider work required, which the Health Secretary is undertaking, to improve the functioning of the care sector. Once that work is complete, I will make the relevant changes.
Verdict: AMBER (70/100)
The reply clearly states that the Government will not change the licensed care-sector routes now, because wider care-sector reform has to come first, and that immigration changes will follow once that work is done. It also clearly describes joint working between the Home Secretary and the Health Secretary, with the immigration system to be aligned with the care-sector reforms. The reply does not give a timetable for the eventual changes, and it does not directly address the umbrella sponsor model by name, so the asker may want to return for those specifics.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will the Home Secretary seriously consider introducing an umbrella sponsor system for care sector workers sponsored under the immigration system. | Addressed | Direct | The reply declines to change licensed routes now, giving a stated reason (the wider care-sector reform must come first), and commits to making the relevant immigration changes once that work is complete. It never names an 'umbrella sponsor' system, but it answers whether the Home Office will consider changes to care-sector sponsorship routes and why not yet. |
| Will the Home Office consider this umbrella sponsor system in conjunction with the Department of Health and Social Care. | Addressed | Direct | The reply states that the Home Secretary has had discussions with the Health Secretary, that the Health Secretary is undertaking the care-sector reform work, and that the immigration system will be aligned with those changes, which together describe joint working with DHSC. |