James Evans MS has called on the Welsh Labour Government to invest in the next generation of Welsh carers, warning that the social care sector has become dangerously reliant on immigration as a short-term fix while failing to create lasting career opportunities for people in Wales.
Speaking in the Senedd, James Evans MS, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, raised serious concerns about the current visa system, which has been linked to rising abuse, modern slavery, and care workers leaving the sector soon after arrival. In 2023 alone, over 146,000 health and care work visas were issued across the UK, yet vacancy rates in social care remain high.
Strikingly, these workers were accompanied by over 203,000 adult and child dependants. That’s nearly 1.4 dependants per visa holder. This enormous influx, far beyond the Department of Health and Social Care’s original estimate of 6,000 workers per year, has clear and direct implications for the strain on our public services, not just in social care, but in housing, education, and healthcare infrastructure more broadly.
James urged Ministers to be transparent about the safeguards in place in Wales to prevent abuse of the visa system, and to focus on building a homegrown care workforce with better pay, training, and real career progression.
James Evans MS said:
“Our care system has become far too dependent on overseas workers, and that’s not a long-term solution. It keeps wages low, restricts opportunities for Welsh workers, and masks the structural problems we urgently need to fix.
“I’m on the side of working people in Wales. That means backing them with fair pay, proper training, and real career paths so they can build a future in social care, not just fall into it out of necessity.
“It’s time for the Welsh Government to stop outsourcing the solution and start investing in local people, giving them the skills and support they need to be the backbone of a respected and resilient care system.”
