Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consultation his Department undertook before introducing up-front charging for the NHS care of non-British citizens.

Following a detailed public consultation that ran from December 2015 to March 2016, the Government set out in its response to that consultation in February 2017 that it intended to amend the existing Charging Regulations. The Government also set out in the response its intention to require up-front charging in respect of non-urgent treatment. This commitment did not constitute a change in policy since existing published guidance has always stated that National Health Service providers should identify and charge patients not eligible for free NHS care upfront, for any care deemed not urgent or immediately necessary by a clinician. Both before and after the consultation response was published, the Department’s Overseas Visitor and Migrant NHS Cost Recovery Programme has been working extensively with the frontline to support adherence to the guidance.