Tag: David Amess

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions his Department has had with the government of the Philippines about the potential effects on the NHS of proposals that Tier 2 visa immigrants from outside the European Economic Area must be earning 35,000 or more to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

The Department has had no recent discussions with, or received representations from, the government of the Philippines about the effects of proposals that Tier 2 visa immigrants from outside the European Economic Area must be earning £35,000 or more to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom.

However, on 15 October 2015 the Home Secretary announced that the Tier 2 restrictions will be temporarily changed for nurses so that they can be recruited from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to ensure safe staffing levels across the National Health Service.

Nurses will be added to the Government’s Shortage Occupation List (SoL) on an interim basis. The temporary rule change, which will apply to applications considered from December, will mean that nurses from outside the EEA who apply to work in the UK will have their applications for nursing posts prioritised.

While nurses remain on the SoL they will be exempt from the requirement to earn £35,000. The exemption will continue to apply whilst the role is on the SoL.

The Home Secretary has also asked the MAC to carry out a review of the evidence about whether nurses should remain on the SoL and to report back to the Home Office by 15 February 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) free schools and (b) academies have been affected by the 50 per cent cap on faith-based admissions in each of the last five years.

Edward Timpson

The government is committed to ensuring that faith designated free schools and new academies provide additional places not just for pupils of their own faith but for pupils from other faiths or no faith. It is for individual schools to decide whether or not to adopt faith based admission arrangements.Those that do may give priority when oversubscribed to a maximum of 50% of applicants with reference to their faith. The department does not collect data on schools that are oversubscribed or on religious diversity in those schools that adopt faith based admission arrangements.

The number of free schools and new provision academies with a religious character opening between September 2010 and October 2015 by academic year is detailed in the table below.

Numbers of free schools and new provision academies with a religious character opening between September 2010 and October 2015 by academic year
Academic year of opening
2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	Total
Free Schools and New Provision Academies	0	7	12	22	15	12	68

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from the government of the Philippines on proposals that Tier 2 visa immigrants from outside the European Economic Area must be earning £35,000 or more to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

The Department has had no recent discussions with, or received representations from, the government of the Philippines about the effects of proposals that Tier 2 visa immigrants from outside the European Economic Area must be earning £35,000 or more to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom.

However, on 15 October 2015 the Home Secretary announced that the Tier 2 restrictions will be temporarily changed for nurses so that they can be recruited from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to ensure safe staffing levels across the National Health Service.

Nurses will be added to the Government’s Shortage Occupation List (SoL) on an interim basis. The temporary rule change, which will apply to applications considered from December, will mean that nurses from outside the EEA who apply to work in the UK will have their applications for nursing posts prioritised.

While nurses remain on the SoL they will be exempt from the requirement to earn £35,000. The exemption will continue to apply whilst the role is on the SoL.

The Home Secretary has also asked the MAC to carry out a review of the evidence about whether nurses should remain on the SoL and to report back to the Home Office by 15 February 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason NHS England has not published its report on the stakeholder responses and findings of the Call to Action on improving eye health and provision of NHS eye health services.

Alistair Burt

NHS England received 330 responses to the Call to Action on improving eye health and provision of NHS eye health services.

The total identifiable spend by NHS England on the Call to Action was £34,184. This consisted of £25,950 for engagement events and £8,234 for the compilation of responses. Figures provided are exclusive of VAT. No consultants were employed.

There are no current plans for NHS England to publish a report on the Call to Action, however, the findings have been discussed with commissioners and stakeholders. Work is underway to develop local and national responses to the findings as part of NHS England business plan for 2016/17.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nurses from the Philippines are currently employed in NHS hospitals on salaries of £35,000 or more; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

Information from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (England only) shows that 233 (headcount) qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff from the Philippines earned £35,000 or more, as of June 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nurses are employed in NHS hospitals on salaries of £35,000 or more.

Ben Gummer

Information from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (England only) shows that 33% of qualified nurses earned more than £35,000 in the year ending 30 June 2015. 15% earned more than £35,000 in basic pay only for the same period. This includes only nurses who worked for the full 12 months. It reflects the actual earnings of each nurse and is not adjusted for part-time working. It excludes nurses in General Practice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations she has received on proposals that Tier 2 visa immigrants from outside the European Economic Area must be earning £35,000 or more to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office has received various representations on the £35,000 settlement threshold for Tier 2 (the skilled worker category) since it was announced in 2012.

The Government announced in 2012 that from 6 April 2016 Tier 2 visa holders who apply for settlement in the UK will be required to meet a minimum annual salary requirement of £35,000. Prior to the announcement, both the Home Office and the independent Migrant Advisory Committee carried out a consultation on the changes. PhD level roles and those in shortage will be exempt from the £35,000 threshold.

The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012, which includes details of relevant consultation. The impact assessment is available on the gov.uk website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people employed by Southend Hospital under Tier 2 visas from outside the European Economic Area are earning less than £35,000; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

This information is not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on proposals that Tier 2 visa immigrants from outside the European Economic Area must be earning £35,000 or more to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

The Secretary of State for Health and the Home Secretary have discussed the Government’s policy on immigration when it has been raised at internal government meetings.

The Home Secretary asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the operation of the Tier 2 route of entry into the United Kingdom and they held a public consultation, which closed on 25 September 2015.

However, on 15 October 2015 the Home Secretary announced that the Tier 2 restrictions will be temporarily changed for nurses so that they can be recruited from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to ensure safe staffing levels across the National Health Service.

Nurses will be added to the Government’s Shortage Occupation List (SoL) on an interim basis. The temporary rule change, which will apply to applications considered from December, will mean that nurses from outside the EEA who apply to work in the UK will have their applications for nursing posts prioritised.

While nurses remain on the SoL they will be exempt from the requirement to earn £35,000. The exemption will continue to apply whilst the role is on the SoL.

The Home Secretary has also asked the MAC to carry out a review of the evidence about whether nurses should remain on the SoL and to report back to the Home Office by 15 February 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nurses from non-European Economic Area countries granted Tier 2 visas between 6 April 2012 and 5 April 2013 and employed on an annual salary of less than £35,000 are employed by (a) Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and (b) Essex teaching hospitals.

Ben Gummer

This information is not collected centrally.