Doctor Training

Martyn Day Excerpts

Tuesday 17th January 2023 Westminster Hall

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Anthony Browne) for securing this debate, which provides me with the opportunity to make a number of political points, but, with your indulgence, Sir George, I will start with a personal one. I put on the record my gratitude and thanks to all the staff of the Scottish NHS. This happens to be my first debate back since being taken ill at the end of last year and undergoing emergency surgery. I am pleased to say that, from every angle—from the local GP right through to the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh—I was treated fantastically, despite which I hope that I do not have to avail myself of those services again any time soon.

In opening the debate, the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire said much with which I agree. In fact, we have heard much on which there is probably a great degree of consensus. For years now, across the UK, there have been various issues with finding qualified staff to fill vacancies in our NHS, especially in a number of specialities. When combined with the aftermath of covid, that has resulted in a backlog that is putting immense pressure on frontline services and those who bravely staff the wards.

Staff shortages lead to delays in the whole system, which can mean longer waits for appointments, operations and getting home from hospital. It is vital that each of our nations is fully able to further recruit both domestic and international professionals. We should not ignore the fact that Brexit is exacerbating difficulties in recruitment. In addition, we have the related issue of staff retention.

As Members will know, health is a devolved area, but many of the levers affecting staffing levels, such as pensions and immigration, remain reserved to Westminster. Along with many others, the Scottish Government warned the UK Government of Brexit’s effect on the health and social care workforce, the supply of medicines and medical devices, and the economic impacts that would inevitably harm health outcomes.

Research by the Nuffield Trust in June, based on data relating to May 2021, suggests that NHS England could be short of 12,000 permanent hospital doctors and over 50,000 permanent nurses and midwives. The Nuffield Trust also recently produced research marking six years since Brexit, which demonstrated that

“Across medicine, nursing and social care, there has been a decline in EU recruitment and registration since the EU referendum in 2016.”

The Nuffield Trust also found:

“There is clear evidence that Brexit is likely to be reducing the incomes of people in the UK relative to a counterfactual of continued membership, through its impact on GDP, investment, and trade. The current economic situation means that this is likely to be an additional reduction on already falling real incomes, rather than slower growth. The link between health and income is well documented, and this is likely to lead to worse health outcomes and higher demands of the NHS.”

I share those concerns, and anti-immigration rhetoric around Brexit should have no place in our NHS or anywhere else in our society. Scotland needs people. Perhaps the Minister can tell us whether his Government will devolve control of immigration powers, so that Scotland can get labour force that it wants and needs—or is that a level that we will only benefit from with independence? Where Scotland does currently have powers, it has seen the number of doctors in training rise by 24.3% under the SNP. Scotland already trains more doctors per head than elsewhere in the UK. Scotland’s share of the UK intake in undergraduate medicine has grown to 13%.

While it is right that we discuss recruitment, we must also consider staff retention. That is why pay and terms and conditions are so important. I implore the UK Government to get around the negotiating table with health unions, just as the Scottish Government are doing, to mitigate the risk of strikes.

The number of staff leaving the profession is also of concern. NHS figures show that in the last year there has been the highest turnover rate in a decade. Between March 2021 and March 2022, although 19,309 staff joined the NHS, 15,389 left. The Scottish Government published their workforce strategy for health and social care in March. The target is to grow the NHS workforce by 1% over the next five years. It is no surprise that winter plans also include aims to recruit additional staff, including some from overseas. As part of Scotland’s recovery plan, the Scottish Government launched a new national recruitment campaign and established a national centre for workforce supply.

The Scottish Government have sought to retain junior doctors by preventing them from working seven full night shifts in a row and more than seven days or shifts in a row, as well as implementing a rest period of 46 hours off following a run of full shift nights. The Scottish Government agreed with the British Medical Association last year that by February this year, no junior doctor rota will contain more than four long shifts in a row, and we are already 99% compliant with that target. However, internationally and within the UK, there is competition to recruit staff. With record high vacancies, it will take a major drive to plug the workforce gap.

The Scottish Government have introduced new national guidelines, making it easier for retiring NHS staff to return to the NHS to support it as it continues to recover from the pandemic while also drawing their pension. However, there is a substantive issue of pension tax rules encouraging senior clinicians to reduce their commitments or retire early, and pension taxation is a wholly reserved matter. The UK Government need to provide a permanent solution that will help efforts to retain senior NHS staff.

There is little doubt that training of more doctors is required to attain the adequate levels of staffing that we all need, but people should be under no illusion that with fiscal and immigration powers reserved to this place, Scotland has to achieve that with one hand tied behind its back. Given yesterday’s unprecedented use of a section 35 order to strike down devolved legislation, even devolved powers may now be under attack, such that the days of devolution are numbered. All of this demonstrates the need for Scottish independence.

TOEIC English Language Tests

Martyn Day Excerpts

Wednesday 9th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Foster]

It might be tempting to say, “Why not take a further English test?” Of course, if somebody has been living in the UK for eight years, it is likely that their English will have improved considerably since their test. As I have outlined, there is a reason why we shut down more than 1,000 bogus colleges a decade ago: we had a route that was completely open to abuse. It was a flag of convenience for the many people who were coming to the UK to work, not to study. That is why the biggest lesson learned was to have an effective student route, which is what we have today.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

We all know that people cheated on the TOEIC tests. We also know that unreliable evidence condemned many innocent victims, perhaps thousands of them, to a life of abject hardship and poverty. They are unable to work or study, their life has been put on hold and their reputation has been absolutely trashed. They need justice. What mechanism can the Minister offer to get them out of this situation that will not cost them further money that they simply do not have?

[Kevin Foster]

As touched on, people can appeal to the courts, and many are getting determinations based on their private and family lives. As I have mentioned already, courts up to and including the Court of Appeal have held that our approach, given the evidence we had of systemic cheating in the system, was appropriate and proportionate. However, we await the latest determination, which will then allow us to announce what further steps we may wish to take.

English Channel Small Boats Incident

Martyn Day Excerpts

Thursday 25th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

As ever, my right hon. Friend hits the nail on the head. He is absolutely right about the wider issues across EU member states, and we recognise that. I will be speaking to Commissioner Johansson later today—not for the first time; I have had previous discussions with her about this issue. I think there is a recognition now. It is absolutely tragic and appalling that it takes a tragedy of this nature for momentum to be galvanised across other countries on this issue. It should never take a crisis of this nature for action to come together. My right hon. Friend specifically asked me about putting pressure—as far as I see it, not just pressure, but direct offers on the table—on France about joint patrols, whether in territorial seas or on territory itself. This has been a constant offer, it really has. I made that offer yesterday and to my counterpart in the last hour.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

This is a devastating tragedy and our thoughts are with those who have lost their lives, together with their friends and families.

I am grateful for advance sight of the statement, and I agree that greater co-operation to tackle the dreadful, criminal, people-smuggling gangs is required. However, this awful event should also signal a massive shift in approach towards the provision of safe legal routes to the UK, not doubling down on criminalising those who are the victims, if they get here, with up to four years in prison.

The Government’s refugee family reunion rules are among the most restrictive in Europe. The Dubs scheme was closed and Brexit means that the so-called Dublin family reunion applications are no longer possible. Resettlement schemes are in limbo. The Nationality and Borders Bill will restrict family reunion rights even further, meaning that more people will feel compelled to make dangerous journeys to join loved ones. The reality is that offshoring is a disgrace. Will the Home Secretary publish the economic impact assessment for the Bill, which presumably confirms that it will waste billions of pounds and not work? Instead of blocking and closing down safe routes, we should be expanding them.

My question is quite simple: will the right hon. Lady commit to ending all discussion of the UK using dangerous and life-threatening push-back tactics in the channel? The Prime Minister said yesterday that all options were on the table in addressing this crisis. Will she confirm that they include looking at the one measure that would make an immediate difference, allowing refugees and asylum seekers to make their initial application from outside the UK, rather than forcing people to physically travel here to begin their applications?

[Priti Patel]

I have to say that I am very disappointed by the hon. Gentleman’s tone and comments, and by his inability to understand what is taking place or the issues and challenges of global illegal migration. First, if the hon. Gentleman thinks there is a simple solution, I will restate for him that there is no simple solution. If he thinks that settlement schemes that have existed previously are the answer, I can tell him that they are not. If he has bothered to read the Nationality and Borders Bill, he should also look at the new plan for immigration and, importantly, at some of the wider reforms that are required to our asylum system, so that it becomes fit for purpose and meets the needs of people who are claiming asylum, and so that we have a differentiated approach to stop economic migrants masquerading as asylum seekers and elbowing women and children who need help and support out of the way. That is effectively what is happening right now.

This is about safe and legal routes—absolutely. If the hon. Gentleman has joined in previous debates, previous statements and questions—I am not sure whether he was in the House on Monday—he will have heard me say, not just on Monday but when I launched the new plan for immigration back in February, that the very purpose of safe and legal routes is to create the right kind of resettlement paths for people who are fleeing persecution and oppression in countries for a whole host of reasons. The world is changing and there is a great deal of instability out there. In doing so, we will create a legal path for them to make their claim from outside the United Kingdom, so that they will not have to come here to do so, and we will ensure that when they come here, they are supported in the right way in terms of accommodation and resettlement so that they can start their new life in the United Kingdom. That is exactly how safe and legal routes should work. That is why I am working with the International Organisation for Migration, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other partners on that.

It is such a shame actually, that once again, the Scottish National party, which has failed to support asylum seekers in its own local authorities—31 out of 32 local authorities have not even—[Interruption.] SNP Members might sit there and yell, “Shame!” at me, but 31 out of 32 of its local authorities do not participate in the voluntary dispersal scheme for housing and asylum seekers. There is an inconsistency in their approach. I absolutely agree about the need for safe and legal routes. This Government will do that properly. We recognise the type of instability, uncertainty, persecution and oppression experienced by people who need and should be claiming asylum in our country, but who are currently not getting it, and we will change that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Martyn Day Excerpts

Monday 28th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Kit Malthouse]

There is absolutely no excuse for assaulting any kind of emergency worker, whether one is on drink or drugs or completely sober. I have to confess that I do not comprehend what goes on in the twisted mind of someone who would commit an assault, particularly on somebody in an ambulance who is coming to the medical aid of a fellow citizen. My hon. Friend raises a good point about aggravating factors. When we shortly consider, hopefully, the doubling of the sentence in legislation, I will certainly take that into account. The Sentencing Council is about to start a review of the sentencing of assault, and I urge him and others to make a submission to that forum as to aggravating factors.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

What her policy is on the provision of asylum accommodation during the covid-19 pandemic.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Chris Philp)]

As I have mentioned, during the coronavirus pandemic we have been allowing people to remain in their asylum accommodation even after their asylum decision has been made, positively or negatively. We started cessations in August for positive cases, and more recently in England for negative ones. As a result, the number of people we have been supporting has gone up hugely, from about 48,000 to about 60,000 across the UK. That has put enormous strain on the system, but we have been working night and day to accommodate that strain.

[Martyn Day [V]]

As covid’s second wave hits, the Minister must recognise that evicting asylum seekers into destitution will be a disaster for both asylum seekers and the communities into which they are evicted. Will she reverse these utterly reckless plans and confirm whether public health directors and bodies were consulted about this specific decision, and what they advised?

[Chris Philp]

I am a he, not a she. We will not reverse the decision, because we need to make sure that when their asylum decisions have been made, people are moved on into the community. We cannot accommodate people indefinitely. As I said in answer to the hon. Gentleman’s first question, the number of people we are accommodating has gone up from 48,000 to 60,000 as a result of stopping move-ons over the summer period. The system is under huge strain, and it is not reasonable to ask the taxpayer to accommodate people on an indefinite basis. We are doing this in a very careful and measured way. We are not doing it all in one go; we are doing it week by week, very slowly and carefully, and at all times in consultation with public health bodies.

Birmingham Attacks and Extinction Rebellion Protests

Martyn Day Excerpts

Monday 7th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Kit Malthouse]

I wish I could comment on the circumstances of the case and the individual. Of course, I have been briefed by the chief constable. No doubt, in time, as this matter is brought before the courts, all will become apparent. Whatever happens, we will try to learn lessons from what happened on Saturday night.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP) [V]]

Whatever we think about Extinction Rebellion’s tactics, be they right or wrong, its actions were peaceful, and such civil disobedience methods have been used throughout history, so any branding of the activists as criminals is certainly not acceptable. Does not the Minister agree that two wrongs do not make a right?

[Kit Malthouse]

Not all crimes are violent.

Oral Answers to Questions

Martyn Day Excerpts

Monday 13th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I pay tribute to the police and crime commissioner for Thames Valley and the emphasis that he has put, along with the police force, on violence reduction units and that multi-agency way of working, so that young people and people across all communities can be supported to ensure that crime prevention, and steering people away from crime and criminality, is the focus.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP) [V]]

When and why did the Government U-turn on their commitment to a remote areas visa pilot? Who did they consult before making that disastrous U-turn?

[Kevin Foster]

We have been very clear in our response to the Migration Advisory Committee report, and we will make sure that our new system serves the whole of our United Kingdom.

Reading Terrorist Attack

Martyn Day Excerpts

Monday 22nd June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

The answer to my hon. Friend’s question is absolutely yes. I have already pointed to some of the legislation that will be forthcoming, and that work will obviously be accelerated.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP) [V]]

I am grateful to the Secretary of State for her statement today and wish to extend my condolences and sympathy to everyone affected by this appalling attack. The Prevent strategy is a key element of the counter-terrorism strategy, but the intended review has been impacted by the reviewer stepping down over concerns about impartiality. Can the Secretary of State inform us what lessons regarding the appointment have been learned, and when will the next reviewer be in place?

[Priti Patel]

As I have already said to the House this afternoon, the recruitment process is under way. The deadline is today. More information will be forthcoming once the reviewer has been appointed. Of course, it is important that there is an objective process around the appointment, and that is something that I completely support.

Public Order

Martyn Day Excerpts

Monday 15th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend is right. As I have said many times, including at the weekend—I would urge all Members to do the same in their own communities—we are in a pandemic and are not out of the woods when it comes to this horrendous disease. We have made tremendous progress, and are all grateful for that. The British public have shown tremendous resolve and resilience throughout the pandemic, but it is right that we continue to reinforce the message that mass gatherings—six or more people—are illegal and people should not be participating in them. Also, the strain it puts our police officers under has been seen this weekend, whether in London, Glasgow, Leeds or Manchester. That is simply not right. We have to do more collectively to make sure we can stop the spread of the virus and protect our police.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP) [V]]

I think we can all unite in condemning the violent actions at the weekend—they were totally deplorable—but we must not allow those actions to detract from the genuine concerns of the Black Lives Matter movement. I am beginning to lose count of the number of reports and reviews there have been during my five years in Parliament. What will the Prime Minister’s cross-departmental review achieve that the others have not, and what can the Home Secretary say to allay my fears that it is just a populist exercise to make the Government look busy rather than an attempt actually to change anything?

[Priti Patel]

I am disappointed with the tone of the hon. Gentleman’s question. I refer him to what I have said already. The purpose of the review and of the Government’s work is to drive actions and outcomes and to address many of the core issues that hon. Members across the House have been raising. These are legitimate issues that we should collectively be working together to address, and that is what the Government and the Prime Minister will be doing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Martyn Day Excerpts

Monday 28th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

T10. There have been reports that the Home Secretary might introduce a regional visa system—something that the Scottish Government and the SNP have been championing for some time. Is she in a position to provide us with more details on this issue?

[Seema Kennedy]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, immigration is an issue for the whole United Kingdom, now and after we leave the European Union.

TOEIC: Overseas Students

Martyn Day Excerpts

Wednesday 24th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Nokes]

I remind the hon. Lady of the numbers: 33,663 UK tests were invalid and a further 22,476 were questionable, so we are talking about 55,000 tests. The independent expert who carried out the review found that the likelihood of false matches was less than 1%. As my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary said, where individuals have wrongly been accused of cheating, it is important that they be allowed to find a means of redress, but it is absolutely not the case that this is part of a hostile environment. These numbers are part of systematic criminal fraud.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

I am grateful to the right hon. Member for East Ham (Stephen Timms) for securing this urgent question following the work that we on the APPG on TOEIC have done. I know how frustrating the process is for the innocent victims inadvertently caught up in this. Professor French’s statement that false matches were less than 1% has been quoted, but he told the APPG just last month that that statement was valid only

“if the results that ETS had given the Home Office were correct”,

and that information is seriously in question. We need to look at that again. People need to be brought out of limbo. They have waited for the Home Secretary’s statement to the House, which did not come; we have had 306 words tucked away in a written statement. We need to know when that limbo will end for them.

[Caroline Nokes]

The hon. Gentleman will know that my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary did not “tuck away” 306 words in a written ministerial statement; it was published yesterday. My right hon. Friend said that he would update the House before recess, and he has. He has also been very clear that we want to go further. That is absolutely a priority for me and my right hon. Friend, or indeed whoever our successors may be. We will take this up as a matter of urgency with the new Prime Minister.