Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent estimate he has made of the number of nationals of other EU countries working in the NHS as carers; what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the number of such carers; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect on NHS productivity of that change in the number of carers.

National Health Service carers are defined on a basis consistent with that of healthcare assistants used in the Cavendish Review (DH, 2012). Staff included as carers for this query are Healthcare assistants, Nursing assistants / auxiliaries and Nursing assistants /practitioners.

In November 2016, 5,731 (4.4%) NHS carers working in NHS Trusts and clinical commissioning groups declared their nationality as other European Union nationals, excluding the United Kingdom. This is out of a total headcount of 131,006.

The November data is the most recent data available.

The potential effect on nationals and productivity of leaving the EU will be dependent on the outcome of negotiations. My Rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister has been clear that she wants to protect the status of EU nationals already living here. It is the Government’s aim to get the best settlement for the UK in all areas including the healthcare system.