The Government is set to end the recruitment of care workers from overseas to bring down the net migration figures, but critics say the move is a ‘crushing blow’ to the social care sector.

The Immigration White Paper, published today in Parliament, includes the change as part of the effort to end the care sector’s dependence on overseas workers and help boost recruitment within the UK.

Home secretary Yvette Cooper also said the move would tackle the abuse and exploitation of overseas workers by rogue care providers.

International workers who are already sponsored to work legally in the sector will be able to continue to extend their stay, according to the Government.

They will also be able to change sponsors and apply to settle, including those who need to switch employers following a sponsor licence revocation.

Professor Martin Green OBE, chief executive of Care England, said the announcement was ‘a crushing blow to an already fragile sector.’

‘For years, the sector has been propping itself up with dwindling resources, rising costs, and mounting vacancies. International recruitment wasn’t a silver bullet, but it was a lifeline. Taking it away now, with no warning, no funding, and no alternative, is not just short-sighted – it’s cruel.’

The Government reiterated its support for a Fair Pay Agreement to help improve the terms of employment for care workers and said its Care Workforce Pathway will support the adult social care sector to professionalise the workforce.

Professor Green said that the Government’s social care workforce reforms were ‘years away’ and come with ‘no significant funding attached.’

‘In the meantime, we’ve lost 70,000 domestic workers over the last two years, vacancies still remain sky-high, and many providers are on the brink of collapse. Who do Ministers think is going to care for people tomorrow, next week, or next month?’

Cllr David Fothergill, chair of the Local Government Association's (LGA) Community Wellbeing Board, said: 'The adult social care workforce plays an essential role in supporting people of all ages to live full, independent lives. But this sector is at breaking point, with vacancies, turnover, and low pay creating growing pressures that have led to a significant amount of unmet and under-met need.'

He added: 'We are calling on the Government to work quickly and closely with councils on a fair pay agreement for care workers to attract and retain skilled professionals, implementing a fully funded workforce strategy for the sector, and providing councils with the resources they need to reduce their reliance on costly agency staff.'

ADASS President Jess McGregor said: 'Thousands of older and disabled people rely on international workers for their care and support, who often take on positions which care companies struggle to fill.

'Cutting off this source of new workers without a plan about how to replace them domestically will worry many older and disabled people, their families and employers. A shortage of care workers leads to a triple whammy of more reliance on agency staff who the person drawing on care won’t know and who the provider will need to pay much more for, more people – especially women - giving up paid work to care for their loved ones, and many people potentially missing out on care altogether.'