The UK Government is being warned that its pledge to curtail unskilled migration will “significantly damage” social care in Scotland.

Changes announced today by the UK Government have no specific route for workers classed as unskilled to come to the UK and will dramatically cut ‘cheap, low-skilled labour coming into the country’.

Prospective workers under the skilled migration avenue have to meet a number of skills requirements and have a job offer with a minimum salary of £25,600.

Around seven in ten current EU workers would not have been eligible to come to the UK under the plans.

There are fears a blanket clampdown will particularly affect social care, in which the majority of care workers earn less than the salary cut-off.

Scottish Care CEO Dr Donald Macaskill says the government is mistakenly equating salary to skill level:

“Yet again we have a set of proposals which treat the critical role of frontline care as unskilled. This is offensive and these proposals are damaging.

“To presume anyone can simply do the job of compassionate and dignified care is deluded.

“The salary thresholds, the language and qualification requirements are wholly unrealistic and simply don’t speak to the reality of social care.

“These proposals have been developed by those who have failed to listen to the concerns of employers.

“They are likely to result in significant damage to the care sector in Scotland unless they are changed.”

The UK Homecare Association said: "We are dismayed by the decision government has made.

“Cutting off the supply of prospective care workers under a new migration system, will pave the way for more people waiting unnecessarily in hospital or going without care.

“Telling employers to adjust, in a grossly underfunded care system, is simply irresponsible."

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has also voiced concerns the move will stop lower-paid health and care support workers coming from overseas.

Dame Donna Kinnair, chief executive of the RCN, said: “While recruitment of overseas staff shouldn’t be used as a replacement for domestic workforce supply, it’s clear that it will need to continue in the short to medium-term so that health and social care services in the UK can continue to function.

“We are clear that maintaining arbitrary salary thresholds will not enable health and social care services in the UK to recruit and retain the number of staff needed to meet the needs of the UK’s population.”

Home secretary Priti Patel said: “Today is a historic moment for the whole country. We’re ending free movement, taking back control of our borders and delivering on the people’s priorities by introducing a new UK points-based immigration system, which will bring overall migration numbers down.”