Every 12 months the HPA criteria for migrant endorsement is reviewed by the Home Office to agree criteria for the following year. The HPA have therefore been working on these criteria with the Home Office over the last 3 months. Part of the review is to provide evidence on the need for the number of migrant endorsements and categories of endorsements that the HPA has issued. In 2022 we issued more migrant endorsements than ever before. On looking at these numbers, the Home Office particularly focussed on the high number of migrant grooms which make up part of the overall endorsements.
As part of this review, we therefore provided extensive briefings about the nature of polo and the importance of the right number of grooms with the key skills and experience to support our sport at the highest level.
In 2022 there was a higher requirement for grooms, and this required full justification. We made it clear we had more teams playing than ever before in 2022, especially in the high goal and without necessary endorsements of grooms with sufficient skills there are risks not only to the development of the sport in the UK but also to pony welfare and player safety. We also provided evidence and state the case in relation the lack of resident grooms, primarily due to the seasonal nature of the work.
The Home Office have confirmed with us that they understand the need for migrant grooms to enable our sport at the highest level and for the development of the sport. However, they have been clear that they wish to see less reliance on migrant grooms for polo over time.
The result of their review was to confirm that there will be no changes to the criteria for players, manager, polo pony trainer, coach, umpire and coach/umpire for next year but did include increasing the requirements on experience of grooms as well as some restriction on numbers. HPA are adamant that any restriction on numbers must not impact on the overall ability of polo to grow in this country, and so must not apply to the sport as a whole.
What has therefore been agreed is an increase in the number of years’ experience a groom needs from two to four, and a cap on the number of grooms per sponsor organisation, whether that organisation represents a team or professional player. This cap is based on the lower of the number of migrant groom endorsements granted in 2022, or the number listed in the Home Office criteria available here.
As an example, based on 2022, some 80% of sponsors will not be affected by this change, and will continue be able to bring in the same number of grooms as in they had in 2022. Only 12% will have a reduction of 1 groom and just under 8% will a reduction of more than 1 groom.
We appreciate this is a change for us in polo, but we need to be aware that we have more migrant endorsements than any other sport, and we need to protect this special arrangement to ensure we are able to continue to positively the benefit our sport from this route for migrant players, umpires, coaches, managers as well as grooms into the future.
