Responding to the government’s plans to reduce immigration Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, which is part of the NHS Confederation, and chair of the Cavendish Coalition, said:

"The government’s announcements will cause deep concern across social care and health.  

"Whilst there is recognition that social care and health staff should be exempted from visa earning requirements applied to the wider economy, the move to prevent workers bringing dependants will be met with real dismay.  

"The Prime Minister and Home Secretary have at a stroke made the UK a less attractive place for much needed social care and health staff weighing up where they might choose to work.  

"Their actions make the job of caring the most vulnerable members of society that bit harder, and in doing so they again underestimate the value of good care services to the economy as a whole’

“The government must fully disclose its calculations on how these changes to visa rules will impact on recruitment levels and waiting times across both social care and health."