CARE standards will drop if the Government limits the number of foreign workers they can employ, it has been claimed.

Ministers are introducing an annual cap on immigration which would result in a cut in work permits for workers from outside the EU.

But Sheila Watson, who runs two care homes in Essex, said the majority of her staff are from outside the EU and are professional, reliable, highly trained nurses with excellent English.

She said: “This is a widespread problem. If we could recruit locally we would We advertise continually, but very seldom get anybody who wants to work the hours.

“It’s unsociable seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. It takes a special kind of person to do the job.”

Mrs Watson, who operates Dudbrook Hall and Howard Lodge in Brentwood with 87 residents and 110 staff, added: “I don’t like to use agency staff because they just don’t care about the residents.”

The Essex Independent Care Association said the review does not recognise the problems of social care recruitment.

David Holroyd, from the group, said: “We have shown time and again there is a recruitment crisis in social care. Recruitment from outside the EU of care staff has been a great success and compensated for the lack of willingness of the local population to work in the industry.”

However Anna Waite, Southend Council’s councillor responsible for adult social care, questioned whether there was a problem with recruiting. She said: “I’m not aware of any issues with recruitment. We have to limit non EU immigration. We just can’t carry on when we have high unemployment levels ourselves.”