Policy | Society

25 Jun 09

Who will care for the UK’s ageing population?

The UK is increasingly reliant on foreign-born workers – particularly in London where six out of ten of all care workers are now foreign-born. The Oxford-based Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) published a study today highlighting the key role played by migrant carers across the UK.

COMPAS predicts that there will need to be a further 3,000 foreign-born carers or a 2.5 per cent increase each year to 2030 to meet the demands of an ageing population – if the UK maintains its current level of care provision and pay and conditions do not improve to attract more UK applicants.

According to the study, the proportion of foreign-born care workers overall has more than doubled over the last 10 years. Nationally there are 120,000 foreign-born workers in care homes or home care – nearly a fifth of all care workers looking after the elderly. Recent migrants playing this key role have originated from Poland, the Philippines, Zimbabwe, India and Nigeria.

In 2008 almost half of UK employers said they struggled to fill staff vacancies, citing low pay and conditions as the main reasons for the recruitment problem. Even in a recession, the situation has not changed markedly, as although there have been an increase in job applications some UK applicants do not have the necessary skills or experience for working with older people.

Sarah Spencer, Deputy Director of COMPAS, said:  ‘We are talking about an invisible migrant workforce, a neglected dimension that has not surfaced in policy debates on the future of the sector. Migrant carers are likely to have growing significance in the next 20 years and recognising this is vital to debates about the quality of care for older people.’

Co-author Dr Alessio Cangiano, of the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society at Oxford University (COMPAS), said: ‘The actual level of demand for migrants will depend on whether pay and conditions improve. Unless government acts to address the root causes of the shortage of staff, there will be a growing demand for care workers from abroad. If so, this should be planned, not an unintended consequence of low pay.’

The study also highlights a negative attitude towards migrant carers by some older people, with care workers and employers reporting some cases of verbal abuse. Two thirds of employers said they thought migrant workers’ standard of English could be a problem. Among its recommendations, the COMPAS report says migrant care workers need better access to English language classes and more guidance should be given to employers on how to handle the hostility faced by some migrant workers.

It suggests the implications of this trend towards the employment of migrant care workers needs closer monitoring by the Care Quality Commission, the independent regulator of health and social care in England.

The study also calls on the Equality and Human Rights Commission to address the discrimination experienced by migrant care workers.