Health Services: Foreign Nationals
(asked on 13th March 2025) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much has been written off for the treatment of chargeable overseas visitors in real terms since the National Health Services (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 were introduced.
The Department publishes data on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors in England in its Annual Report and Accounts. The consolidated NHS provider accounts published cash payments received in-year by the National Health Service from overseas visitors.
NHS charges can be recovered up to six years from the date of invoice, and therefore the amount recovered in a year does not necessarily mean it was identified in the same financial year. The Department does not hold information in the format requested regarding real terms data for written off debt.
The following table shows aggregate income identified and cash payments received between 2019-2024:
Year | Aggregate income identified | Cash payments received in-year |
2018/19 | £91,000,000 | £35,000,000 |
2019/20 | £93,000,000 | £39,000,000 |
2020/21 | £61,000,000 | £21,000,000 |
2021/22 | £67,000,000 | £25,000,000 |
2022/23 | £100,000,000 | £32,000,000 |
2023/24 | £123,000,000 | £42,000,000 |
Source: The Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts and Consolidated NHS provider accounts.