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NHS: Migrant Workers

Asked by Richard TiceReform UKDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 10 June 2026UIN 900316

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of trends in the level of NHS healthcare workers (a) recruited from overseas and (b) trained in the UK.

Answered by Karin Smyth

We want the NHS to have the workforce it needs to deliver high-quality care. We value the expertise overseas staff provide, while building a more sustainable domestic workforce. International recruitment has fallen sharply in recent years, and the 10-Year Health Plan sets an ambition to reduce it to under 10% by 2035 by recruiting and retaining more homegrown staff, and prioritising UK medical graduates for training places.

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