Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the White Paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System of 12 May 2025, what assessment she has made of (a) levels of current migrant staffing and (b) the potential merits of increasing necessary staff supply in the health and social care system in Northern Ireland.

The Home Office does not monitor the staffing levels of specific sectors; this should be directed to the Northern Ireland’s Department of Health.

It is open to the Health and Care sectors to use the options available to them; this includes international recruitment providing they meet the requirements of the relevant visa route, primarily the Health and Care visa. There are no limits on the number of staff that can be recruited under the Health and Care visa system providing the criteria are met. However, the Government is clear that the health and social care sector, alongside other sectors, needs to reduce its reliance on international recruitment and increase its staffing supply from the domestic workforce.

We will continue to work with Governments across all parts of the United Kingdom.