Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce barriers to entry in to the care sector for (a) UK and (b) international applicants.

Training or qualification requirements for entry into the care sector for United Kingdom applicants apply only to regulated professionals. Employers can access free and fast-track Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and barred list checks for covid-19 related recruitment, and DBS continue to operate the Adult First Check service for the care sector.

On 15 February 2022 care workers were added to the Health and Care Visa and the Shortage Occupation List, enabling these roles to be recruited from overseas. The Government also announced on 22 September 2022 that it would invest £15 million in a fund to boost international recruitment of care workers. The fund will be launched shortly.