NHS fees to be scrapped for overseas health staff and care workers - BBC South East Wales

NHS staff and care workers from overseas are to be exempt from paying a surcharge to use the health service after mounting pressure from MPs.

Boris Johnson's spokesman said the PM had asked the Home Office and Department for Health to exempt NHS and care workers "as soon as possible".

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was "a victory for common decency".

The health immigration surcharge on non-EU migrants is £400 per year and set to rise to £624 in October.

Officials are now working on the detail and more will be announced "in the coming days".

But it is understood the plan will include exemptions for all NHS workers, including porters and cleaners, as well as independent health workers and social care workers.

On Wednesday, Mr Johnson told MPs he "understood the difficulties faced by our amazing NHS staff", but said the government "must look at the realities" of funding the NHS.

It caused a backlash, with a number of Tory MPs joining opposition MPs in calling for him to reconsider - including the Tory chairman of the Commons public administration select committee, William Wragg, and his backbench colleague Sir Roger Gale.

Earlier, No 10 defended the charge, saying the money "goes directly back into the NHS to help save lives".

But Mr Johnson's spokesman has now said: "[The PM] has been thinking about this a great deal. He has been a personal beneficiary of carers from abroad and understands the difficulties faced by our amazing NHS staff.

"The purpose of the NHS surcharge is to benefit the NHS, help to care for the sick and save lives. NHS and care workers from abroad who are granted visas are doing this already by the fantastic contribution which they make."

'The right thing to do'

The change was welcomed by Labour, as the party had been planning to seek an amendment to the Immigration Bill to secure the exemption.

Sir Keir tweeted: "Boris Johnson is right to have u-turned and backed our proposal to remove the NHS charge for health professionals and care workers.

"This is a victory for common decency and the right thing to do. We cannot clap our carers one day and then charge them to use our NHS the next."

Mr Wragg also praised the decision, saying the PM had "shown true leadership, listened and reflected".

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2020-05-21 15:56:15Z
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