Meeting of the Parliament 11 June 2025
I am afraid that I must make progress.
The NHS does not need more pilot schemes. It needs action and genuine change. It needs conversations—difficult conversations—and it needs innovation and reform.
One aspect of the Government’s amendment that I agree with is the point that the UK’s decision to close the health and care worker visa route to adult social care is short sighted and deeply damaging and risks worsening an already acute staffing crisis in our NHS and social care workforce. However, let us be clear that the recruitment and retention crisis that we have in Scotland’s care sector has been years in the making and is entirely of the SNP’s design. It is driven by low pay, poor workforce planning and a Scottish Government that consistently fails to value those who are on the front lines.
Here in Scotland, we can achieve change only if the Government chooses to act. It must match our ambition and give care workers the pay and recognition that they deserve. At Westminster, we are calling for an end to crippling Home Office visa fees that threaten to push services to the brink. Our message is simple: whether care workers grew up here or came here, they deserve fair pay, job security and respect. The Government needs to stop dragging its heels and act before the crisis deepens.