Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government plans to support the NHS to mitigate the financial cost of the immigration skills charge for financial year 2017-18.

Exemptions from the Immigration Skills Charge for employers were announced on 24 March 2016. These include exemptions for employers of specified occupations skilled to PhD level and individuals switching from a Tier 4 student visa to Tier 2 (General). All employers, including the NHS, who recruit workers through the Tier 2 skilled worker route will benefit from these exemptions.

We have not estimated the potential annual cost of the charge to providers. The cost will depend on employer use of the Tier 2 skilled worker route. The Government has no plans to reimburse the cost of the Immigration Skills Charge for any employer.