Discussions with the UK Government

Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General and Brexit Minister (in respect of his Brexit Minister responsibilities) – in the Senedd at 2:57 pm on 26 February 2020.

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Photo of Joyce Watson Joyce Watson Labour 2:57, 26 February 2020

There were—and it's been mentioned several times today—plans recently introduced by the UK Government on the introduction of the point-based immigration system from 2021. And, again, I'm going to repeat, the industry that will be most negatively affected—and the people—as a consequence of the changes is the social care sector. I don't think we can spend too much time here actually driving home this message, and Unison have warned that the plans by the UK Government will represent a disaster for the sector. They've said that companies and councils can't currently recruit enough staff from the UK, and they already have to rely on those care workers from elsewhere. So, suddenly ending this supply of labour will cause huge problems across the country. I notice that Neil Hamilton's already disappeared now, but he doesn't seem to think that that's the case. But this will be where people will need care, and there won't be sufficient people there to provide it, and others have said so here already today. So, Minister, what assessment have you, the Welsh Government, made of the impact that these changes can have on the social care sector here in Wales?