Johnson axes NHS levy for foreign health workers
Facing backlash, No10 says Prime Minister’s U-turn came after he reflected on care he received in hospital
BORIS JOHNSON has agreed to scrap an NHS surcharge for migrant health and care workers as Downing Street said the rethink was influenced by the foreign nurses who saved his life.
Just 24 hours after defending the policy in Parliament, the Prime Minister yesterday changed course after reflecting on the care he received while in intensive care recovering from the effects of coronavirus.
In a statement issued last night, a No10 spokesman added that as a “personal beneficiary of carers from abroad” he understood the “difficulties faced by our amazing NHS staff ”.
Mr Johnson has now asked the Home Office and Department of Health to remove the charge “as soon as possible”, with details on how the change will be implemented due to be announced in the coming days.
It came after several senior Conservatives spoke out against the £400 annual levy, which applies to workers coming from outside the European Economic Area.
They included Lord Patten of Barnes, the Chancellor of Oxford University and former Conservative chairman, who urged Mr Johnson to reconsider the policy.
Calls to scrap the surcharge were also largely triggered by NHS hospital cleaner Hassan Akkad, who went viral with a plea to Mr Johnson to scrap the proposal.
Mr Akkad – a Syrian refugee – yesterday thanked the public for backing his called, saying: “Thanks to all of you who tweeted and put pressure on the Government.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Lord Patten said that the UK was dependent on “people who come from other countries” to staff care homes.
He added that it “would be madness and wickedness not to recognise the contribution which these people are making”.
His comments were echoed by Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former party leader, as well as three Conservative chairmen of influential parliamentary committees.
Others even went further and threatened to vote for a Labour amendment to the Immigration Bill, which would have abolished the charge for NHS and care workers.
Amid a growing backlash, a Downing Street spokesman confirmed that the charge would be dropped for all NHS workers, ranging from medical health staff to vital porters and cleaners, as well as social care staff.
They added: “As the PM said in the House of Commons, he 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.”
Mr Johnson has repeatedly spoken of his admiration for health care workers since being discharged from hospital, and in April singled out two nurses – Jenny Mcgee from New Zealand and Luís Pitarma from Portugal – who treated him during a critical 48 hours in intensive care.
The £400 surcharge remains in place for other categories of visa applicants and will increase to £624 in October, as planned.
Welcoming the decision last night, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it represented a “victory for common decency” and added that it was the “right thing to do”.
“We cannot clap our carers one day, and then charge them to use our NHS the next,” he said.
He was joined by Conservative MP William Wragg, the chairman of the public administration committee, who said: “I’m very grateful to Boris Johnson who has shown true leadership, listened and reflected. Thank you to him and to my colleagues for their strong representations.”
It comes a day after ministers announced a scheme offering indefinite leave to remain to the families of all NHS staff who die as a result of contracting coronavirus.
Care workers, cleaners and porters had originally been left out of the scheme, which only applied to certain occupations such as nurses, biochemists and radiographers.