Oral QuestionDepartment of Health and Social Care

What discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the effect of the Tier 2 visa cap on recruitment in the NHS and social care sector.

Tabled: 13 June 2018Answered: 19 June 2018

Asked by

Layla Moran

Liberal DemocratOxford West and Abingdon

Answering Minister

the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Answer from Hansard

The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)

As well as the record investment that we put into the NHS, we are ensuring that we get a better bang for the taxpayer’s buck. Under the Conservatives, for example, the NHS was paying £3 billion to recruitment firms for agency shifts. We have cut agency spending by a third and are abolishing it altogether, with the savings reinvested in staff pay and treatment for patients. That is just one example of how our reform agenda is good for patients and for taxpayers.