Nurses and Midwives: Numbers

Lord Pearson of Rannoch Excerpts

Monday 4th December 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord O'Shaughnessy]

In the long run, we want to be in a position to provide more of our staff domestically. There are concerns about the fact that we recruit from other countries, not least developing countries—I do not think that that is a long-term, sustainable position. In addition to the additional nurse training places that I mentioned, more medical training places for doctors are coming through, so we will be achieving that position in future.

[Lord Pearson of Rannoch (UKIP)]

My Lords, do the Government accept that the £10 billion per annum in net cash that we shall no longer pay to Brussels after Brexit is equivalent to the annual salaries of some 1,000 nurses every day?

[Lord O'Shaughnessy]

The noble Lord’s mental maths are far better than mine. I agree that it will provide for the possibility of yet more funding for the NHS, which is something that this Government have delivered in the past seven years.