Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect on nurses from the Philippines working in the NHS of proposals that Tier 2 visa immigrants from outside the European Economic Area must be earning £35,000 or more to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

The Government announced in 2012 that from 6 April 2016 Tier 2 visa holders who apply for settlement in the UK will be required to meet a minimum annual salary requirement of £35,000. PhD level roles and those in shortage will be exempt from the £35,000 threshold. The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012. This included the potential effect on nurses. The impact assessment is available on the gov.uk website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf.

On 15 October, the Home Secretary announced that nurses will be added to the list on a temporary basis, pending a full review by the independent Migration Advisory Committee. This will ease pressure on the NHS at a time when the Government is introducing tough new controls on costly agency spending. It will help the NHS improve continuity of care for patients, invest in the frontline and maintain safe staffing levels. The Home Office has not made any assessment of the impact of the policy specifically on nurses from the Philippines working in the NHS.