Scotland has succeeded in ‘professionalising’ care industry, UK migration body says

The Scottish Government increased pay for care sector workers further last month

The Scottish Government's progressive wage policy in the care industry has been “effective at professionalising" the sector and has left Scotland less reliant on overseas workers, the Migration Advisory Committee has said.

In its annual migration report, the MAC, an independent public body that advises the UK Government, said Scotland had a far lower take-up rate for international care worker visas due to the "relative competitiveness" of the care worker wage. This is when compared to competing occupations, making the profession more attractive to domestic workers.

Last month, the Scottish Government set a further increase in basic pay to £12 an hour for social care and support staff from spring – up from £10.90 and £900 a year higher than in England.

The Migration Advisory Committee has said Scotland had a far lower take-up rate for international care worker visas due to the "relative competitiveness" of the care worker wage

"One plausible explanation for why Scotland and Northern Ireland have a lower take-up rate for care worker visas is due to the relative competitiveness of the care worker wage when compared to competing occupations, making the occupation more attractive to domestic workers,” said the report.

"This is partly a result of deliberate policy. The Scottish Government published a workforce strategy in 2022 for the health and social care sector and has increased the minimum rate of pay for the adult social care sector in line with the real living wage for the last few years.”

The report added: "Also, if Scottish care workers do not already possess a qualification, they must attain the specific qualification in line with their role within five years of registration. This policy appears to have been effective at professionalising the sector. No such workforce plan or minimum rate of pay for the adult social care sector exists in England, despite the recommendation in our adult social care review.”

The report also said there had been a significant increase of the foreign-born population in various parts of the country, with Midlothian, North Lanarkshire, West Lothian, and Falkirk listed as seeing their foreign-born population share more than double between 2011 and 2021. Meanwhile, only Na h-Eileanan Siar and Orkney had seen a decrease over the same period.

The report said some parts of the UK, including areas of Scotland, were seeing general population decline, which could be helped by targeted migration. It said: "In these areas, positive net migration may be able to boost economies, as well as rebalancing localised demographic issues associated with an ageing population.

"Whilst mitigating population decline in certain parts of the UK does not mean we must have high migration everywhere, and much of the pressure of population growth would be in London and the South-East, migration into parts of the UK which have suffered population loss and economic decline might help to generate employment and sustain services.”

Social care minister Maree Todd said: “The Scottish Government has been clear in our opposition to the UK Government's migration policies that are damaging to our economy and public services. The care sector is one of the most badly impacted by Brexit, with many valued staff choosing to leave Scotland.

“The minimum wage for full-time adult social care staff in Scotland is around £900 per year higher than it is for their counterparts in England.”