Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information her Department holds on (a) the number of applications for job vacancies in the UK health and social care sector which were made by individuals from countries listed on the World Health Organisation's Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List and (b) the number of such applicants who were subsequently granted visas by the UK government, in the most recent period for which these figures are available.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of current vacancies within (a) the NHS and (b) the social care workforce the Government expects to be filled by workers recruited from overseas by the end of 2022; and what recent steps his Department has taken to facilitate the recruitment of those workers.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
No specific estimate has been made. However, the Government has committed to making more effective use of international recruitment to increase the National Health Service and social care workforce. International recruitment has the potential to fill thousands of vacancies, allowing the health and care sectors to benefit from the skills of overseas workers wishing to work in England.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Memorandum of understanding between the UK and the Philippines on healthcare cooperation, published by his Department on 11 November 2021, whether any (a) special meetings or (b) consultations have been convened to discuss urgent issues arising from that agreement, as provided for in paragraph 6 of the memorandum.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There have been no specific meetings or consultations.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Memorandum of understanding between the UK and the Philippines on healthcare cooperation, published by his Department on 11 November 2021, when he expects the next regular annual meeting of the Joint Committee established by paragraph 6 of that agreement to take place; and what specific issues his Department plans to raise at that meeting.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There is no confirmed date for the next regular annual meeting of the Joint Committee. Initial plans were paused following the general election in the Philippines in May 2022.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Memorandum of understanding between the UK and the Philippines on healthcare cooperation, published by his Department on 11 November 2021, what recent assessment he has made of the level of compliance by recruitment agencies with the provision of that Memorandum.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific assessment has been made. However, officials hold regular meetings with the Filipino Labour Attache. Where concerns have been raised with officials on compliance with the code, these cases have been referred to NHS Employers or other relevant regulatory bodies. NHS Employers hosts a list of agencies which adhere to the code to assist employers. It undertakes routine checks on compliance, responds to complaints or breaches and takes necessary action where the code is contravened.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Bilateral agreement between the UK and Kenya on healthcare workforce collaboration, published on 11 November 2021, what progress his Department has made on the establishment of a joint committee to oversee the implementation of that agreement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
An official level working group has been established to oversee the implementation of the Bilateral agreement. This includes officials from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the Kenyan Government and relevant agencies. The formation of a formal joint committee has been paused until the conclusion of the Kenyan general election in 2022.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Bilateral agreement between the UK and Kenya on healthcare workforce collaboration, published on 11 November 2021, if he will make an assessment of the level of compliance by recruitment agencies with the sections of that agreement relating to their activities.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The first cohort of Kenyan nurses recruited via this agreement arrived in the United Kingdom in June 2021. The organisations engaged in this recruitment were compliant with the agreement.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which countries his Department is in negotiations with on Government-to-government agreements on health and social care workforce recruitment as of 12 July 2022.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We are unable to provide the information requested as it would be likely to prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and other states.
When signed, Government-to-Government agreements are published to ensure transparency. All agreements on health worker migration are explicit in the commitment to ensure fair, ethical, and sustainable recruitment and employment of healthcare professionals pursuant to existing laws and regulations in each partner country. The Government has agreed and published agreements with Philippines, Malaysia, Kenya and Sri Lanka.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has received reports of activities by recruitment agencies supplying workers to the UK health and social care sector from overseas in breach of his Department’s code of practice on the recruitment of such workers.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Where concerns have been raised with officials on compliance with the code, these cases have been referred to NHS Employers or other relevant regulatory bodies.
NHS Employers hosts a list of agencies which adhere to the code to assist employers during the selection process. It undertakes routine checks of agencies’ compliance with the code, responds to complaints or breaches and takes necessary action where the code is contravened.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many employment agencies supply workers to the social care sector in England from overseas as of 12 July 2022; and if he will make an assessment of how many and what proportion of those agencies fully adhere to the Code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel, published on 25 February 2021.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The information requested is not held centrally.