Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of (i) nurses (ii) doctors (iii) midwives entering the NHS were (a) non-UK citizens (b) non-UK graduates in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on the number and proportion non-United Kingdom citizens entering the National Health Service. NHS England publishes monthly Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics for England which includes data on the self-reported nationality of NHS staff, which may not be the same as citizenship. Not all non-UK nationals will have been recruited from abroad, as some will already be resident in the UK before they join the NHS. This information is available at the following link, within the folder “Preliminary - NHS HCHS Workforce Statistics, Turnover – CSV data files”:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics
The Department does not hold data on the number and proportion non-UK graduate doctors, nurses and midwives entering the NHS. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) publishes data on non-UK graduate first-time joiners to their professional register across the UK. The General Medical Council (GMC) similarly publishes data on non-UK graduates taking up, or returning to, a license to practice medicine in the UK. It is possible to apply to join the UK Registers without moving to the UK.
The most recent published NMC data is available at the following link:
https://www.nmc.org.uk/about-us/reports-and-accounts/registration-statistics/
The most recent published GMC data can be found under the “Reference tables and data annex” section of the “The state of medical education and practice in the UK: workforce report 2025”, within the file titled “The register of medical practitioners”, available at the following link:
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff in their Department have been on mental health leave for six months or more; and for what reason.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Based on our reporting data up to the end of September 2025, we are withholding this data due to the small number of employees involved which could make individuals and the cause of their absence identifiable.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2025 to Question 67482 on IVF: Greater Manchester, If his Department will have discussions with NHS Greater Manchester following the publication of the Standardising IVF Cycles Consultation Summary Report on implementing an increase in the number of funded cycles.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards, and are based on the clinical needs of their local population. There are no current plans to discuss implementing an increase in the number of funded in-vitro fertilisation cycles with NHS Greater Manchester.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has assessed the factors contributing to variation in intervention rates between NHS trusts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no specific assessment. Local National Health Service commissioners are responsible for planning healthcare services that meet the needs of their respective populations. NHS trust interventions will vary across services and in response to a range of local factors.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will put in place (a) employment protections and (b) transition arrangements for long-serving NHS clinical staff being moved into civil service contracts as part of the NHS England restructure.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, or equivalent mechanisms such as the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice, are designed to safeguard employees’ rights during transfers between employers. Employment protections and transition arrangements for NHS England employees will be put in place based on these schemes.
The Department and NHS England are working closely together to identify differences in employment terms and conditions. Where changes are likely to affect staff transferring into the Department, these will be included in formal measures for consultation. This will be communicated once we are in a position to do so.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides on changes to locally commissioned health services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published guidance for National Health Service commissioners on planning service changes, including the decommissioning of services. This includes guidance on clinical evidence and costs.
The guidance also incorporates the Government’s four tests: that service change should have support from commissioners; be based on clinical evidence; demonstrate public and patient engagement; and consider patient choice. This guidance is available at the following link:
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) maternity and (b) neonatal care in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Frimley Integrated Care System (ICS), which covers the Surrey Heath constituency, has implemented several measures to improve maternity and neonatal care. These include the full implementation of the Saving Babies’ Lives care bundle, including an in-house stop smoking service, and the PREM7+ care bundle to improve care for preterm babies.
The Frimley ICS has also launched a new antenatal education offer, is implementing the Maternity Incentive Scheme, a financial incentive that encourages trusts towards actions that improve maternity safety, and is working with the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership to provide birth boxes to improve women’s experience.
At a national level, Baroness Amos is leading a rapid, national, independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services to help us to understand the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies, and families experience unacceptable care. The Government is also setting up a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. The taskforce will take forward the recommendations of the investigation to develop a new national action plan to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal care.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Boost to mental health services from thousands of extra staff, published on 27 June 2025, how the recruitment of 6,700 mental health staff in the most recent year compares with the number recruited in each of the previous five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer to Question 85849 on Mechanical Thrombectomy: Health Services, how many and what proportion of stroke units are in trusts which offer mechanical thrombectomy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the (a) adequacy of support services for families of patients detained or likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act, and (b) benefits of developing a single point of contact service to remove the occasions where multiple calls to numerous agencies are required to secure the required support.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.