Written question asked by Evan Harris (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 27 March 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 14 April 2003. It was answered by Lord Hutton of Furness (Labour) on Monday, 14 April 2003 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many registered nurses actively recruited to the NHS from abroad are employed within the NHS in England; how many registered nurses were actively recruited to the NHS from abroad in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02 and (d) since April 2002 in (i) England, (ii) each NHS region and (iii) each strategic health authority. - Inc figure.

Answer: Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many registered nurses actively recruited to the NHS from abroad are employed within the NHS in England; [106211] (2) how many registered nurses were actively recruited to the NHS from abroad in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02 and (d) since April 2002 in (i) England, (ii) each NHS region and (iii) each strategic health authority. [106210] Mr. Hutton: The Nursing and Midwifery Council registers all nurses who work in the United Kingdom and hold statistics for the number of overseas nurses who are accepted onto their register. Through government to government agreements (Philippines, India and Spain), 1,092 nurses have been recruited.

Secondary information