The petition of the people of Stoke-on-Trent,
Declares that we object to overseas doctors and nurses being forced to leave the UK after a six year period if their pay is below the amount stipulated by the government given that we the taxpayers have paid for additional training for these doctors and nurses and our NHS is at risk of collapse through staff shortages.
The petitioners therefore urge the House of Commons to reverse this policy.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Robert Flello, Official Report, 16 September 2015; Vol. 599, c. 1156.]
[P001543]
Observations from the Minister for Immigration (James Brokenshire); received 22 December 2015:
The Government believe that in the past it has been too easy for employers to bring in workers from overseas rather than to take the long-term decision to train our workforce here at home. The Prime Minister has said that we need to do more to change that, which includes reducing the demand for migrant labour. We do not believe that it is sensible to rely on recruiting doctors and nurses from overseas, and the long-term aim is that we train our own staff in this country.
There will be a £10 billion real terms increase in NHS funding in England between 2014-15 and 2020-21. The Department of Health will reform the funding system for health students by replacing grants with student loans and abolishing the cap on the number of student places for nursing, midwifery and allied health subjects, enabling the provision of up to 10,000 additional nursing and health professional training places this Parliament. We are also investing in return to practice programmes and improving retention of existing staff. Health Education England forecast that more than 23,000 additional nurses will be in place by 2019. By 2021 there will be an extra 5,000 doctors in general practice.
As an interim measure, the Home Secretary has agreed, exceptionally, to place nurses on the shortage occupation list (SOL) pending a full review by the independent Migration Advisory Committee. This means that nurses will be prioritised for allocation of places within the annual limit of 20,700 places for non-EEA nationals admitted to the UK under Tier 2 (General)—the visa route for skilled workers.
From 2016, non-EEA workers will need to earn a salary of at least £35,000 to remain in the UK for longer than six years. However, as workers are exempt from the settlement pay threshold if they are in a role that is or has been on the shortage occupation list at any time while they have been sponsored to do that role, all nurses currently sponsored in Tier 2 will be exempt from the £35,000 threshold when they apply for settlement.
Several types of doctor, including those working in emergency medicine, are also recognised shortage occupations and will be exempt from the £35,000 settlement pay threshold. For those doctors in a role that has not been in shortage, we would expect the minimum earnings threshold to be achievable within the maximum six years’ leave that they may spend in the UK on a Tier 2 (General) visa.
For the future, the Government intend that employers should only bring in workers from outside Europe where we have genuine skills shortages or require highly- specialised experts. The Migration Advisory Committee has been asked to advise on how to achieve this, but with sufficient flexibility to include high value roles and key public service workers. The Committee is looking at selection criteria such as, but not limited to, salaries, particular attributes, economic need and skills level and we await their report with interest.