Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect on the health services in developing countries of doctors and nurses being recruited to work in the UK instead of their own country.

There are no UK-specific estimates of the impact of international recruitment of health workers, but the UK has signed the World Health Organisation Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel and implements it through the UK Code of Practice for international recruitment. The UK Code specifies a list of developing countries that should not be targeted for international recruitment under any circumstances.