Rayner renews criticism of proposed settlement rules for care workers

Angela Rayner has renewed her criticism of proposed UK immigration reforms that would make it harder for foreign care workers to obtain permanent residence, calling the changes “disruptive” in an interview with the Times. Under plans announced last year by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, migrants in lower-paid jobs below graduate level would have to remain in the UK for 15 years before applying for settlement. The policy has not been finalised, and officials are considering responses to a consultation.

Rayner said the proposals risked penalising care workers who had been invited to Britain to address staffing shortages. She said it was unfair to change the rules after people had relocated and spent years caring for vulnerable residents. Rayner, a former care worker who left school at 16, has criticised the plans previously.

The issue has created tension within Labour. More than 100 Labour MPs and many trade unions oppose the reforms, according to the source material. Andy Burnham, who became prime minister in July, is understood to have concerns about parts of the policy and is considering whether workers already in the UK should be exempt.

Rachael Maskell, a Labour backbench MP, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that she expected the proposals to be changed so they would not apply retrospectively to people already working in Britain. Rayner said Mahmood was aware of her position. About 180,000 foreign care workers came to Britain between 2022 and 2024, mainly under previous Conservative governments.

Without a change in the law, many could qualify for permanent residency in 2027. The Labour government has already stopped new recruitment of care workers from overseas and restricted their ability to bring family members to the UK. Mahmood told the Home Affairs Select Committee that ministers would decide on the settlement proposals imminently, after considering consultation responses and the interests of workers already in the country.