Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of nurses that will need to be recruited from abroad to maintain levels of health care provision during the 2016-17 financial year.

Ben Gummer

The number of nurses that will need to be recruited from abroad to maintain levels of health care provision during the 2016-17 financial year is a matter for local National Health Service organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local populations.

Local organisations must ensure they have sufficient levels of nurses to deliver safe and sustainable care. We remain committed to moving forwards towards a self-sustaining workforce and to reduce the demand for migrant labour, including nurses. Nurses have been included on the Home Office’s Shortage Occupation list but this Government remains committed to the principle that our nurses should be able to secure the jobs they are qualified for. Employers will have to satisfy the resident labour market test before they can employ a nurse from outside of the European Economic Area.