NHS: Overseas Doctors
Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Earl of Courtown
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, we are looking at all issues relating to this at the moment. The noble Lord says that the qualifying period is seven to eight years before new doctors are fully qualified. However, I should add that graduate entry medical students—I declare an interest as my daughter has just qualified—qualify in four years. The daughter of a noble Lord opposite is on the same course, but as he is not in his place I shall not mention his name.
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that a proper procedure should be in place to ensure that such doctors have the same qualifications as those EU doctors? They should be properly qualified, have a full knowledge of and proficiency in English and be registered to practise medicine in the country from which they come.
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, the doctors applying, particularly those from the Indian continent, are some of the best qualified who operate in this country. There is an exceedingly high bar for employment, and all have to meet standards on the English language.
Air Quality
Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Earl of Courtown
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, the noble Lord is quite right that the effects of pollution on the health of our children and families is something that we must concentrate on. As I said in my opening Answer, we are working with local government to implement a new programme of clean air zones in Birmingham, Leeds, Southampton, Nottingham and Derby.
The noble Lord, Lord Dubs, mentioned diesel vehicles. As he will no doubt be aware, under the clean air zones we are going to be discouraging older vehicles from entering those areas. He also mentioned bringing to the attention of Brussels the issue of the relationship between diesel and pollution. I am sure that they are aware of this matter but we will take that back.
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that the UK Government were willing signatories to the EU air pollution directive and that we will remain committed to its aims and objectives? In addressing issues such as acid rain and air quality, European environmental policy has had a great impact in creating a cleaner environment in the UK.
The Earl of Courtown
My noble friend is quite correct, but she will also be aware that the environment that we have in this great country of ours goes back many years before we joined the EU as well. In fact, the Clean Air Act was introduced in 1956.
Refugee Crisis: European Anti-migrant Parties
Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Earl of Courtown
The Earl of Courtown
The noble Lord, Lord West, as ever, draws attention to some of the saddest aspects of this immigration crisis. The whole point of the summit last week was to break the business model of the people traffickers—the smugglers—and to end the link between getting in a boat and getting settlement in Europe.
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)
My Lords, will my noble friend and the Government look at the situation in Greece and the number of refugees who are using that route into the rest of the European Union? The Greek bailout is up for review in June and the refugees will have an enormous impact on the Greek economy. What assessment have the Government made of that situation and that route into the rest of Europe through Greece?
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, we will hear more about the final agreement from last week’s EU-Turkey summit during the European Council at the end of this week. I will write to the noble Baroness with any more details that I can give her.
Commercial Debt: Late Payments
Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Earl of Courtown
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, I cannot answer for part of what the noble Baroness says, but, basically, the whole issue is for companies to treat their suppliers in a way that cuts down late payments. However, the noble Baroness is quite right to say that we are not going to impose sanctions as she described.
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)
Will the Minister congratulate the Groceries Code Adjudicator on this her first decision? Will he insist that a proportion of the fine be used to increase her resources to enable her to do more such investigations? Will she be allowed to take own-initiative investigations, off her own bat, rather than wait for a referral from small producers that simply are too timid to do so?
The Earl of Courtown
My noble friend is quite right that support has to be given to small producers and SMEs in this instance. As far as more powers for the adjudicator are concerned, I feel that those will be part of the performance review. However, if there is anything more that I can add to that, I will write to my noble friend.