Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a comparative assessment of the potential impact of differences in revalidation procedures in (a) Australia, (b) California and (c) the UK on retention rates for qualified nurses.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is responsible for nurse revalidation. Revalidation was introduced by the NMC in April 2016 and registrants are required to revalidate every three years. There is no evidence that the NMC’s revalidation process has had any impact on the retention of professionals on its register.

The Department has no plans to carry out a comparative assessment of the potential impact of differences in revalidation procedures in Australia, California and the United Kingdom on retention rates for qualified nurses.