Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many medical practitioners have been refused a Tier 2 (General) Certificate of Sponsorship since November 2017 due to the annual cap of 20,700; and what assessment he has made of the effect of those refusals on (a) levels of patient-facing activity and (b) locum costs.
The Department does not hold information on the number of medical practitioners refused a Tier 2 (General) Certificate of Sponsorship centrally.
The Department continues to monitor and analyse overall staffing levels across the National Health Service and adult social care in addition to trust spending on agency staff. We work across Government to ensure there will continue to be sufficient staff to deliver safe, high quality, efficient services on which patients rely.