OFFICIAL statistics reveal a significant drop in the number of people from abroad coming to work in the NHS or social care as the Labour government is urged to scrap “damaging” Tory visa rules.
Data from the Home Office shows that the outgoing Tory government granted 286,382 work visas overall in the year to June 2024 which is a drop of 11% from the previous year.
The statistics also revealed that the Home Office approved 89,085 visas for people working in the health and care sector in the year to June 2024, which is down by more than 80% from April to June of the year before.
The fall in numbers comes almost a year since the former Tory government introduced harsher restrictions on foreign workers and their families applying for visas in the UK.
SNP MSP Clare Haughey has called on the Labour government to scrap these restrictions as she said the decline in the number of visas being issued to health and social care workers is “extremely concerning”.
She said: “Westminster immigration policies are damaging both Scotland’s economy and our ability to deliver vital public services – the Labour UK government must scrap these Tory-implemented visa rules.
“This drop in the number of visas being issued to health and social care workers is extremely concerning – without an immediate reversal of this policy pressure will only increase on NHS Scotland, making the task of reducing waiting lists increasingly difficult.
“The SNP is calling on the Labour party to reject the Tories obsession with arbitrary immigration targets and put our public services first – the UK government must scrap these damaging policies or devolve the powers to Scotland so we can build an immigration system that works for us.”
Harsher restrictions imposed by the Tory government in December included new minimum salary tests for both workers and members of their family.
As of March this year, care workers are also no longer allowed to bring dependents to the UK.
The figures showed there was also a decline in the number of visas granted to foreign students as it dropped by 13%.
Data also showed in the first six months of 2024, the number of related visas granted to members of a student’s family fell by 81%.
The UK Government has been approached for comment.
