Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2026 to question 105956, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the immigration white paper on the NHS long-term staff plan.

My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular discussions with my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department on a range of subjects, including immigration policy.

The Government has published an Impact Assessment alongside the Spring 2025 Immigration Rules, which sets out the expected effects of the reforms on the Skilled Worker and Health and Care worker routes, including modelling of changes in overall visa volumes. The Impact Assessment is published on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impact-assessments-covering-migration-policy

The forthcoming 10-Year Health Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it. As part of that plan, we will outline strategies for improving retention, productivity, training, and reducing attrition, thereby enhancing conditions for all staff while gradually reducing reliance on international recruitment, without diminishing the value of their contributions.

For adult social care, it is also the Government’s policy to reduce reliance on international recruitment and improve domestic recruitment and retention. We recognise the scale of reform needed to make the adult social care attractive as a career and are determined to ensure that those who work in care are respected as professionals. We are introducing a new Fair Pay Agreement for Adult Social Care, implementing the first universal career structure for adult social care, and providing £12 million this year for staff to complete training and qualifications.