Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to assess the feasibility of implementing charging of overseas visitors in accident and emergency department services.

No decision has yet been made on whether to extend charging to accident and emergency (A&E) services. In February 2017 the Government published its response to the consultation, Making a fair contribution, and committed to continue to consider the points raised by respondents around the feasibility of implementing charging in A&E services for overseas visitors and migrants. As such, the Department is working with arm’s length bodies and other stakeholders to assess the economic benefit, public health impact and practical feasibility of introducing charging for non-eligible overseas visitors in A&E departments. In addition, four National Health Service trusts have recently completed pilots to assess the feasibility of asking patients for identification in A&E departments, the results of which will be available in early 2018.