So the government has changed its mind and has now allowed, at least for the foreseeable, workers to come from overseas to be employed in the home care sector.
Live-in providers will be breathing a huge sigh of relief.
They rely on foreign staff coming into the country and effectively living at clients’ homes, sometimes for months on end, before returning to their countries for a break.
Standard home care companies will also be cautiously pleased. Cautious because, post-Brexit, many doubt that we will see communities of eastern Europeans cropping up in towns in the UK. In the past, these communities have been invaluable sources of excellent staff.
Yet many European workers will be nervous about coming to the UK because government policy could change. They would prefer permanent status.
Of course, allowing foreign staff into the country will depress wage rates in the sector.
There have been signs that home care wages have at last been rising. Not before time, many would argue.
There will now be tension between extra supply from overseas and a desire to attract home-based workers.
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