Health

George Freeman Excerpts

Wednesday 25th March 2015 Ministerial Corrections

The following are extracts from the Westminster Hall debate on fees paid by nurses and midwives on 23 March 2015.

[George Freeman]

My point is that it is important to understand that the reforms mean that the PSA is funded by the nine regulatory bodies. How the bodies seek to cover that cost is up to them. In this case, the NMC has decided to apply it equally across all its members.

[Official Report, 23 March 2015, Vol. 594, c. 399WH.]

…I have looked at the salary figures, and the average, ending March 2014, for nurses, midwives and health visitors—the people we are talking about—is £31,000. They will get the 1% rise, which is an extra £800.

[Official Report, 23 March 2015, Vol. 594, c. 401WH.]



…The hon. Member for Blaydon raised several questions, including whether the NMC will review its guidelines on fitness to practise, and provide guidance on fitness to practise cases. Those are all matters for the NMC as an independent body, but new legislation means that nurses can pay fees in instalments, and that fees can reflect part-time work.

[Official Report, 23 March 2015, Vol. 594, c. 405WH.]

Letter of correction from Mr Freeman:

Errors have been identified in the responses I gave to the debate on fees paid by nurses and midwives in Westminster Hall on 23 March 2015.

The correct responses should have been:

[George Freeman]

My point is that it is important to understand that the reforms mean that the PSA is funded by the nine regulatory bodies. How the bodies seek to cover that cost is up to them. In this case, the NMC is proposing not to pass on the cost to its members this year.

…I have looked at the salary figures, and the average, ending March 2014, for nurses, midwives and health visitors—the people we are talking about—is £31,000. They will get the 1% rise, which is an extra £300.



…The hon. Member for Blaydon raised several questions, including whether the NMC will review its guidelines on fitness to practise, and provide guidance on fitness to practise cases. Those are all matters for the NMC as an independent body, but new legislation means that nurses can pay fees in instalments, and that will  help those in part-time work by spreading the cost of the fee.