Home Office failed to assess risk and impact of changes to skilled worker route

The Public Accounts Committee has published its report on skilled worker visas, finding that changes such as the expansion of the route to social care were made without a full assessment of potential impacts and risks, including the exploitation of workers. The committee says that it will be important for the Home Office to learn from the findings of this report when when implementing the recent immigration white paper.

A shortened summary of the conclusions and recommendations are as follows:

1. The Home Office has not worked collaboratively with other departments to fully assess the impacts of changes to the Skilled Worker visa route on different sectors of the labour market and regions of the United Kingdom. 

Recommendation:

a. Before the end of 2025, The Home Office should write to the Committee to explain how the Labour Market Evidence Group is working and, in particular, how it will lead to a deeper understanding of the role that immigration plays in sector workforce strategies.

b. In future, other departments also need to provide more rigorous analysis of the needs of sectors affected by potential rule changes, including an assessment of the role of immigration in sectoral workforce plans and how potential rule changes may affect this.

2. The Home Office has not had a full understanding of how immigration has helped to address skill shortages or the unintended consequences of the much higher than anticipated use of the Skilled Worker route. 

Recommendation: Alongside its Treasury minute response to this report, the Home Office should write to the Committee setting out the results of its evaluation of the Skilled Worker visa route, including:

• the costs and benefits of the route;
• the extent to which the route is helping employers across sectors/regions to address skill shortages; and
• any unintended consequences of the higher than expected use of the route including the impact of the high number of dependents.

3. The Home Office opened the Skilled Worker visa route for social care workers quickly and failed to understand the risks. 

Recommendation: The Home Office and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) should:

• write to the Committee to provide more detail on the decision to end overseas recruitment for care workers, including the expected implications for the sector’s workforce; and
• work with DHSC to monitor how the route is being used during the transition period to 2028, and update the Committee on the impacts on the care sector; including the extent to which domestic workforce plans are helping to address skill shortages.

4. The cross-government response to tackling the exploitation of migrant workers has been insufficient and, within this, the Home Office’s response has been slow and ineffective. 

Recommendation: The Home Office should work with relevant government bodies to establish an agreed response to tackling exploitation risks and consequences.

5. The Home Office does not understand the extent to which people are complying with the terms of their visa and leaving the United Kingdom when they should. 

Recommendation: The Home Office should undertake a full assessment of its approach to tackling compliance risks to identify gaps in its response, how to target its resources, and apply lessons from the care sector to other sectors.

6. The Home Office has not done enough to understand the experience of customers and improve the service they receive. 

Recommendation: In its Treasury Minute response to this report, the Home Office should set out how it is improving its customer service.