UK (Washington Insider Magazine) – Recent data indicates that the number of individuals applying to work in the UK’s NHS and social care sectors surely declined. Official figures show that in the year leading up to June 2024, the Conservative government granted 286,382 work visas, marking an 11% decrease from the previous year. Detailed Home Office data shows that it approved 89,085 visas for the health and care sector in the year to June 2024—more than 80% down from April to June of the year before.
The decline in workers wanting to come to the UK comes after the former Conservative government introduced restrictions on foreign workers and their families to slash overall immigration. These restrictions, announced by then Home Secretary James Cleverly in December last year, included new minimum wage requirements for foreign workers and their families, which led to a significant drop in the number of workers seeking to enter the UK.
Drop in Student Visas Amid Political Changes
Alongside the decline in work visas, the number of visas for foreign students also declined. In the year ending June 2024, 432,000 student visas were issued, a decrease of 13% on the previous year. In addition, the number of visas for family members of students fell by 81% in the first half of 2024, contributing to the overall decline in immigration figures.
According to BBC, although the long-term effects are still unknown, Dr. Ben Brindle of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford stated that the decline of visas is likely to lead to a decrease in net migration. The Labour Party has stated that it intends to maintain some of the restrictive policies put in place by the previous administration, despite having promised to lower net migration before the general election. The Minister for Immigration, Seema Malhotra, praised Labour’s resolve to lessen the UK’s dependency on foreign workers while criticizing the previous Conservative government for failing to address skills shortages.
Asylum Applications Also on the Decline
Asylum applications have decreased in tandem with the decline in work and student visas. Up until June 2024, 97,000 people applied for asylum in the UK, an 8% drop from the previous year. 38,784 irregular arrivals are included in this, most of which are made by small boats that traverse the English Channel. The current Labour government is concentrating on removing the 118,882 outstanding asylum cases from the backlog in order to identify the applicants who are eligible for refugee status.
Challenges Ahead for the Labour Government
The Labour government faces significant challenges as it seeks to manage the immigration system inherited from the previous administration. While the reversal of the Rwanda deportation policy has drawn criticism from former Home Secretary James Cleverly, Labour officials are working to address the issues within the asylum system and implement strategies to reduce the backlog of unresolved cases.
