WATCH: Labour reminds minister how “important and skilled” care workers are

Labour’s Nick Thomas-Symonds has reminded the Home Secretary how “important and skilled” care workers are, inviting her to a meeting with frontline staff to get a “better understanding of the incredible jobs they do”.

The Shadow Home Secretary made the comments to Priti Patel in parliament today, responding to plans released this morning that show the government will exclude care workers from its post-Brexit fast-track health visa.

Thomas-Symonds told her that he would “convene a delegation of care workers” for the Home Secretary – he suggested that she would find it useful when “sitting there deciding how skilled people’s jobs are”.

Commenting on the government plan published this morning, he said: “We all want more people training and entering the care sector at a decent wage, of course we do – but the reality is there are over 100,000 vacancies in England alone today.

“Now some of us in the House, Mr Speaker, don’t need reminding of how important and skilled jobs of care workers are – but that doesn’t always seem to be the case for the members opposite.

“So I’d like to extend an invitation to the Home Secretary – I will convene a meeting of a delegation of care workers to help provide a better understanding of the incredible jobs they do, alongside their trade union representatives.”

The 130-page document published by the Home Office this morning outlines how the government’s new points-based immigration system will operate when it comes into force on January 1st next year.

Responding to its release earlier today, Thomas-Symonds slammed the government for its failure to include care workers in the plans for a fast-track visa system for health workers.