Written questions by Lowe.

What the average International English Language Testing System scores were for internationally recruited healthcare professionals entering the NHS via the international recruitment programme in each of the last three years.

The Department does not collect data on repeat International English Language Testing System (IELTS) attempts or average test scores for National Health Service staff. Information on English language competence for professional registration is held by the relevant United Kingdom healthcare regulators. Any assessment data for candidates applying to join the NHS Performers List would be managed by NHS England, while local NHS trusts and employers may hold records of candidate performance where assessments form part of their recruitment process. Additionally, IELTS publishes global test statistics on its website, at the following link:https://ielts.org/researchers/our-research/test-statistics

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.

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-statisticsThe 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:https://www.gmc-uk.org/about/what-we-do-and-why/data-and-research/the-state-of-medical-education-and-practice-in-the-uk/workforce-report

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a dedicated whistleblowing line for NHS staff and patients to report issues with language barriers in the National Health Service.

Speak Up Direct, funded by the Department, is a dedicated, independent helpline offering confidential advice, signposting, and guidance to National Health Service and social care staff on raising work-related concerns. Additional support includes Freedom to Speak Up Guardians, with over 1,300 now available across healthcare settings in England, and a Freedom to Speak Up policy that sets minimum standards for NHS organisations in England.The NHS complaints process enables patients to give feedback or raise concerns about any aspect of their care.Translation and interpretation services are available for patients who need language support. Additional support is available for individuals who may have difficulty understanding their care or communicating their needs. Patient advocates can speak on their behalf, facilitate decision-making, clarify care procedures, and help safeguard patient rights.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 November to Question 82825 on NHS: English Language, how many tests were taken, by nationality; and how many were failed.

The Department does not hold data about these tests or assessments. Where collected, this would be held by the relevant lead organisation for each process. For data about English language competence for registration, this would be held by the healthcare regulators. Any available assessment data on candidates applying for the NHS Performers List would be held by NHS England. The International English Language Testing System and Occupational English Test would hold data for their respective tests and local National Health Service trusts and employers would hold data on candidate performance where an assessment has been carried out as part of a recruitment process.

To provide a breakdown of (a) total pay-outs (b) total value of claims to category A patients by (i) UK citizens (ii) asylum seekers for the financial year 24/25.

NHS Resolution manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England. This data is not held by NHS Resolution.

What the total (a) number of claims and (b) value of clinical negligence claims paid out in financial year 24/25 were attributed to language barrier issues.

This data is not held by NHS Resolution.

What information his Department holds on the number of physicians responsible for medical malpractice which resulted in a pay-out in the 2024-25 financial year, broken down by nationality.

This data is not held by NHS Resolution.

To provide the total (a) number and (b) value of clinical negligence claims paid out to category f patients in financial year 24/25.

NHS Resolution manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England. This data is not held by NHS Resolution.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of ambulance delays on (a) survival and (b) recovery rates for victims of (i) violent crime and (ii) home intrusion.

There are clearly defined national standards for patient access to urgent and emergency care with a clinically led model that prioritises those in the greatest need. While NHS England routinely monitors and evaluates Category 1 and 2 ambulance response times by clinical condition, e.g. cardiac arrest or stroke, NHS England does not record the cause of the incident, e.g. assault or injury sustained during a burglary. The requested data on the number of ambulance callouts for violent or assault-related injuries and injuries sustained during a burglary or break in is not centrally collected. Similarly, response and handover times for such incidents are not available. No specific assessment has been made of ambulance delays on the survival and recovery rates for these victim groups.For data on crime-related incidents, including assaults and burglaries, please refer to police-recorded crime data, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables

Whether NHS England routinely monitors Category 1–2 ambulance response times by incident type.

There are clearly defined national standards for patient access to urgent and emergency care with a clinically led model that prioritises those in the greatest need. While NHS England routinely monitors and evaluates Category 1 and 2 ambulance response times by clinical condition, e.g. cardiac arrest or stroke, NHS England does not record the cause of the incident, e.g. assault or injury sustained during a burglary. The requested data on the number of ambulance callouts for violent or assault-related injuries and injuries sustained during a burglary or break in is not centrally collected. Similarly, response and handover times for such incidents are not available. No specific assessment has been made of ambulance delays on the survival and recovery rates for these victim groups.For data on crime-related incidents, including assaults and burglaries, please refer to police-recorded crime data, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables

How many ambulance call-outs have been recorded for (a) violent or assault-related injuries and (b) injuries sustained during a burglary or break-in in each year since 2015.

There are clearly defined national standards for patient access to urgent and emergency care with a clinically led model that prioritises those in the greatest need. While NHS England routinely monitors and evaluates Category 1 and 2 ambulance response times by clinical condition, e.g. cardiac arrest or stroke, NHS England does not record the cause of the incident, e.g. assault or injury sustained during a burglary. The requested data on the number of ambulance callouts for violent or assault-related injuries and injuries sustained during a burglary or break in is not centrally collected. Similarly, response and handover times for such incidents are not available. No specific assessment has been made of ambulance delays on the survival and recovery rates for these victim groups.For data on crime-related incidents, including assaults and burglaries, please refer to police-recorded crime data, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables

How many and what proportion of ambulance callouts recorded for (a) violent assaults related injuries, (b) injuries sustained during a burglary or break in in each year since 2015 involved (i) response times exceeding 15 minutes or (ii) hospital transfer times exceeding 60 minutes.

There are clearly defined national standards for patient access to urgent and emergency care with a clinically led model that prioritises those in the greatest need. While NHS England routinely monitors and evaluates Category 1 and 2 ambulance response times by clinical condition, e.g. cardiac arrest or stroke, NHS England does not record the cause of the incident, e.g. assault or injury sustained during a burglary. The requested data on the number of ambulance callouts for violent or assault-related injuries and injuries sustained during a burglary or break in is not centrally collected. Similarly, response and handover times for such incidents are not available. No specific assessment has been made of ambulance delays on the survival and recovery rates for these victim groups.For data on crime-related incidents, including assaults and burglaries, please refer to police-recorded crime data, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2025 to Question 81591 Medical Treatments: Gaza, how many Gazan children have been treated on the NHS.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Statement HCWS899 made to the House on 1 September 2025 by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. The safety, privacy, and wellbeing of these severely ill and vulnerable patients and their families remains our absolute priority. We will not be providing further operational details, including numbers of arrivals, at this stage.

How much income was generated through charges for category f patients in each financial year since 2018-19; and how much aggregate income identified for the 2018-19 financial year was written off.

The Department does not currently have any plans to reassess or revise charging categories. Introducing additional charging categories would likely be disproportionate and not aid in improving cost recovery.While the Department holds information on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors, it does not hold or collect information relating to specific categories of patient, including Category F patients.The Department also does not hold or collect information on the nationalities that have the highest unpaid invoices.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 38250 on Health Services: Foreign Nationals, what the ten nationalities with the highest total unpaid invoices were in 2023-24.

The Department does not currently have any plans to reassess or revise charging categories. Introducing additional charging categories would likely be disproportionate and not aid in improving cost recovery.While the Department holds information on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors, it does not hold or collect information relating to specific categories of patient, including Category F patients.The Department also does not hold or collect information on the nationalities that have the highest unpaid invoices.

What the cost to the public purse was of the NHS Muslim network in each of the last five years for which data is available.

As of August 2025, there are 1.54 million staff employed by NHS trusts and integrated care boards in England. Over 89,000, or 5.8%, report Islam as their religion.Staff networks are not allocated budgets but can apply for funding to support activities which improve staff experience or patient outcomes. In 2023/24, NHS England spent £2,655 supporting the NHS Muslim Network’s activities.The NHS Muslim Network seeks to create a sense of belonging and community within the National Health Service and provide wellbeing support to members.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of splitting charging category A patients ordinarily resident in the UK and (a) asylum seeker and (b) failed asylum seeker under section 95 of the Immigration Act 1999 into two new categories.

The Department does not currently have any plans to reassess or revise charging categories. Introducing additional charging categories would likely be disproportionate and not aid in improving cost recovery.While the Department holds information on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors, it does not hold or collect information relating to specific categories of patient, including Category F patients.The Department also does not hold or collect information on the nationalities that have the highest unpaid invoices.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS (a) maternity wards and (b) perinatal services treat fathers as active participants in the birth process.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has committed to putting the voices of families, including fathers, at the heart of the approach to improving quality, safety and accountability in maternity services.Baroness Amos’ independent national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services will ensure that the lived experiences of families, including fathers and non-birthing partners, are fully heard and used to inform the development of the national recommendations. A National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will take forward the recommendations of the investigation to develop a new national action plan to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal care.National bodies such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Royal College of Midwives have issued guidelines emphasising the importance of involving fathers and partners in maternity and perinatal care. These guidelines set expectations for trusts to adopt family-centred care and to treat fathers as active participants, not just visitors or observers. These resources are available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng201/chapter/recommendations#:~:text=Antenatal%20classes-,1.3.,NICE%20guideline%20on%20postnatal%20careFathers and partners can now receive evidence-based assessments and support through specialist perinatal mental health services where needed, with some NHS trusts now also working with Home Start UK’s Dad Matters project to support paternal mental health. The project engages with fathers to help them understand their baby, their role as a father, and how transition to fatherhood may affect them and their family.

How many complaints there have been relating to NHS staff in each of the last ten years.

Data on complaints made by, or on behalf of, patients about National Health Services provided by NHS trusts, general practices, and/or dental practices is collected and published annually. It is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/data-on-written-complaints-in-the-nhsThe data includes categorisation into broad ‘subject of complaint’ areas, a range of which may involve complaints including elements relating to members of NHS staff.Independent bodies regulating health and care professionals across the United Kingdom, such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the General Medical Council, or the Health and Care Professions Council, also publish data relating to the fitness to practice investigations they undertake. These will cover professionals who are registered, not all of whom will be working in the NHS in England. These can be accessed via the relevant body’s website.

How many people with non-UK nationality worked in the NHS by nationality in each of the last 25 years.

NHS England publishes data on the nationality of the National Health Service Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) workforce in England.Data on the nationality of NHS staff includes a time-series from September 2009 until the latest quarter, with the most recent quarterly data being from June 2025. In the time series, data from September 2009 until September 2015 was recorded yearly, in September of each year. From September 2015 the data was recorded quarterly.The most recent published data can be found in the file titled ‘HCHS staff in NHS Trusts and core orgs June 2025 - Staff in Post summary tables’, available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics/june-2025Data on the nationality of NHS staff is not available prior to September 2009.It is important to note that because recording of NHS nationality data has improved over time, comparisons of nationality in the NHS over time should be made only with caution.