Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS staff are not recruited from countries with health worker shortages.

The Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel in England guarantees stringent ethical standards when recruiting health and social care staff from overseas. The code aligns with the latest advice from the World Health Organization and prohibits active international recruitment from countries with the most pressing health workforce challenges, except where a Government-to-Government agreement is in place.

However, the Code is mindful of an individuals’ right to migrate and individuals from countries on this list can make direct applications for vacancies in the United Kingdom health and social care sectors, if they do so independently and of their own accord.