Chefs and plasterers to be banned from recruiting from abroad

Telegraph

20 hours ago

Butchers, chefs and plasterers are to be stripped of their ability to recruit from abroad under government plans.
Veterinary nurses, teaching assistants, office managers and air travel assistants will also be among 111 occupations that will no longer be deemed to have a shortage of workers.
Migrants can only obtain a job if it is graduate-level or above in an attempt to end low-paid migration, making the 111 occupations ineligible.
These measures are the first to be introduced from the Government's Immigration White Paper to tighten controls and cut migration to the UK.
A new time-limited temporary shortage list will be introduced until the end of 2026 for below degree level, where ministers say recruiting foreign workers is key to building critical infrastructure or industrial strategy. These will be determined on advice from the Migration Advisory Committee.
But those workers will no longer be able to bring their families and will not be entitled to salary and visa fee discounts.
The Home Office also confirmed that the recruitment of foreign workers into the care sector will end.
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, said: 'We are delivering a complete reset of our immigration system to restore proper control and order, after the previous government allowed net migration to quadruple in four years.
'These new rules mean stronger controls to bring migration down, to restore order to the immigration system and to ensure we focus on investing in skills and training here in the UK.'
The changes, if approved by MPs and peers, will come into force from July 22.
Further measures from the White Paper, such as increasing English language requirements and raising the immigration skills charge, are also expected to be in place by the end of the year.
The White Paper is aimed at cutting net migration from record levels, clamping down on abuses of the system and ending a reliance on cheap foreign labour.
Home Office estimates indicate that the number of people coming to the UK could be reduced by up to 100,000 per year, when looking at eight of its proposals, including on study and work routes and a higher level of English language requirement.
But the move to scrap care worker visas has sparked concerns from the sector.
Will Dalton, the GMB union national officer, described the decision as 'potentially catastrophic' because the care sector is 'utterly reliant on migrant workers' and still has more than 130,000 vacancies across the country.
The Home Office believes there are 40,000 potential members of staff originally brought over by 'rogue' providers who could work in the sector while UK staff are trained up.
Transitional arrangements for overseas care workers already in the UK have also been set out, according to the department.