Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of (i) nurses (ii) doctors (iii) midwives entering the NHS were (a) non-UK citizens (b) non-UK graduates in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on the number and proportion non-United Kingdom citizens entering the National Health Service. NHS England publishes monthly Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics for England which includes data on the self-reported nationality of NHS staff, which may not be the same as citizenship. Not all non-UK nationals will have been recruited from abroad, as some will already be resident in the UK before they join the NHS. This information is available at the following link, within the folder “Preliminary - NHS HCHS Workforce Statistics, Turnover – CSV data files”:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics
The Department does not hold data on the number and proportion non-UK graduate doctors, nurses and midwives entering the NHS. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) publishes data on non-UK graduate first-time joiners to their professional register across the UK. The General Medical Council (GMC) similarly publishes data on non-UK graduates taking up, or returning to, a license to practice medicine in the UK. It is possible to apply to join the UK Registers without moving to the UK.
The most recent published NMC data is available at the following link:
https://www.nmc.org.uk/about-us/reports-and-accounts/registration-statistics/
The most recent published GMC data can be found under the “Reference tables and data annex” section of the “The state of medical education and practice in the UK: workforce report 2025”, within the file titled “The register of medical practitioners”, available at the following link:
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2025 to Question 86606, what steps he has taken to ensure that citizens of British Overseas Territories have access to NHS services whilst resident in the UK.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service care is provided free at the point of use to people who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom. Being ordinarily resident broadly means living in the UK on a lawful and properly settled basis. People who are not considered ordinarily resident in the UK are required to pay for healthcare in England unless an exemption applies.
If citizens of British Overseas Territories are assessed as being ordinarily resident in the UK, they are able to access NHS care free at the point of use.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the changes to the Certificates of Sponsorship minimum salary threshold on (a) international staff in the NHS, (b) NHS staffing levels and (c) NHS waiting lists.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 9 April 2025, the minimum salary for Health and Care Worker Visa holders increased to £25,000 per year. This applies to new Certificates of Sponsorship assigned on or after this date. No specific assessment has been made on the impact of this change on National Health Service international staff, staffing levels, and waiting lists.
While we value our international workforce and the skills and experience they bring, we are also committed to growing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join our NHS. The 10-Year Health Plan set out this Government’s intention to reduce the reliance on internationally trained healthcare professionals.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff in their Department have been on mental health leave for six months or more; and for what reason.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Based on our reporting data up to the end of September 2025, we are withholding this data due to the small number of employees involved which could make individuals and the cause of their absence identifiable.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Nursing and Midwifery Council on wait times for (a) general cases and (b) cases before the case examiner.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom, and nursing associates in England. The NMC is independent of Government, directly accountable to Parliament and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties. The United Kingdom’s model of healthcare professional regulation is founded on the principle of regulators operating independently from the Government. The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care oversees the bodies that regulate health and care professionals in the UK, which includes the NMC.
As Minister of State for Health (Secondary Care), I monitor the NMC’s performance and meets with the organisation regularly, which includes discussion on the timeliness of the NMC’s fitness to practise processes. In line with the Ministerial Code, details of all ministerial meetings, including those with the NMC, are published quarterly on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 reduce gynaecology waiting lists.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing waiting lists is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission, and we are committed to cutting waiting times across all specialities, including gynaecology. We have committed to return to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, by March 2029.
We are making good progress, as waiting lists have been cut by over 230,000 since the Government came into office, which includes nearly 14,000 fewer patients waiting for gynaecology treatment over the same period.
We have also delivered 5.2 million additional appointments between July 2024 and June 2025, having exceeded our pledge of two million. However, we know there is more to do, and we have confirmed over £6 billion of additional capital investment to expand capacity across diagnostics, electives, and urgent care. This includes expanding the number of surgical hubs, which provide valuable and protected capacity across elective specialities, including gynaecology. As of November 2025, over half of the 123 operational elective surgical hubs in England provide gynaecology services.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
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 support retention within the maternity and neonatal workforce.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government is committed to making the National Health Service the best place to work, by supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals.
To support this ambition, the Government plans to introduce a new set of standards for modern employment in April 2026. The new standards will reaffirm our commitment to improving retention by tackling the issues that matter to staff including promoting flexible working, improving staff health and wellbeing, and dealing with violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the NHS workplace. They will provide a framework for leaders across the NHS to build a supportive culture that embeds retention.
Targeted retention initiatives for nurses and midwives have also been undertaken by NHS England and led by the Chief Nursing Officer, including: the introduction of a nursing and midwifery retention self-assessment tool; a national preceptorship framework; mentoring schemes; and strengthened advice and support on pensions and flexible retirement options.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2025 to Question 67482 on IVF: Greater Manchester, If his Department will have discussions with NHS Greater Manchester following the publication of the Standardising IVF Cycles Consultation Summary Report on implementing an increase in the number of funded cycles.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards, and are based on the clinical needs of their local population. There are no current plans to discuss implementing an increase in the number of funded in-vitro fertilisation cycles with NHS Greater Manchester.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to ensure the provision of a) surgical hubs and b) community diagnostics centres are aligned with areas with the highest levels of health deprivation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to ensuring that the provision of elective surgical hubs and community diagnostic centres (CDCs) is aligned with areas of greatest deprivation and population health need. As a core requirement of the capital business case approval process within NHS England, all proposals have been and continue to be reviewed and assured against the following core principles:
This approach ensures equitable access to services, supports the reduction of health inequalities, and promotes improved outcomes for patients across all regions.
NHS England is also working with local National Health Service systems to identify the most appropriate locations for additional investment, including new CDCs. New CDCs should be positioned in a location which addresses local need and health inequalities. Details of future sites will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made to renew the Women’s Health Strategy.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Significant progress has been made towards delivering the ambitions in the 2022 Women’s Health Strategy, for example, improving women and girls’ awareness and access to services and driving research to benefit women’s health.
Renewing the strategy will ensure that we continue this momentum and that it is fully aligned with the 10-Year Health Plan. We will identify and remove enduring barriers to high-quality care, such as decreasing wait times for diagnosis, and ensuring that professionals listen to women and respond to their needs.
We are currently engaging with external partners to inform the renewal of the strategy, bringing together voices from across the Government, NHS England, public health, mental health, women’s health advocacy, and employment policy alongside women with lived experience of women’s health conditions. We are also drawing on the evidence provided by almost 100,000 people in response to the original call for evidence for the 2022 strategy.