Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has had from his counterpart in (a) Spain, (b) Italy, (c) the Philippines, (d) Italy and (e) the Republic of Ireland on the number of nurses from those countries being recruited to work in the NHS.

We are not aware of any recent representations from Spain, Italy, the Republic of Ireland or the Philippines in relation to nurses being recruited from those countries to the National Health Service.

Recruitment for the NHS is not administered centrally. NHS trusts are responsible for their own recruitment, including international recruitment.

However, the Department is committed to ensuring ethical recruitment practices operate within the NHS through adherence to the UK Code of Practice for International Recruitment. The NHS Employers organisation is responsible for implementing the code of practice in the United Kingdom and advises employers on ethical recruitment.