14 June 2017Respondiong to the news that Tim Farron has resigned as leader of the Liberal Democrats, the leaders of the Green Party said:”We wish Tim the best of luck in his next challenge. Though we do not share all of the Liberal Democrat’s politics,… read more
This afternoon Tim Farron resigned as Liberal Democrat leader. At party HQ in London he gave the following speech to party staff: “This last two years have seen the Liberal Democrats recover since the devastation of the 2015 election. That … read more
14 June 2017
Molly Scott Cato, Green MEP for the South West, has said Conservative and Labour plans to end free movement will leave the country struggling to fill places in the NHS and care sectors. Recent analysis by the GMB shows that the number of EU nationals working in health and social care has increased by 72% in the last eight years and there are now 209,000 EU nationals working in the sector – up from just 121,000 in 2009.
EU nationals now make up more than five per cent of the entire health and social care workforce – including one in ten care home staff. The latest report comes hot on the heels of a leaked Department of Health study revealed that ending freedom of movement and clamping down on immigration would leave the NHS short of 40,000 nurses by 2026. A Freedom of Information request by Heart Radio further reveals the extent to which NHS Trusts in Devon and Cornwall are dependent on overseas nurses [1].
Molly Scott Cato said:
“The catalogue of evidence should be a wake-up call to the Tories and Labour who both want to end free movement. The GMB has called for an urgent post-Brexit plan for when free movement ends. But the surest way to guarantee our hospitals and care services are adequately staffed is to immediately grant rights for all EU nationals living in the UK to remain here, and to continue to allow freedom of movement. Greens are unequivocal on this – we will continue to defend free movement.
“While we should acknowledge perceptions around immigration were key to influencing the outcome of the EU referendum last year, people did not vote to see their hospitals and care services go into meltdown over a staffing crisis. If we are to keep our health and social care services functioning properly we will continue to rely on people of all nationalities coming to work in the UK.
“Where there are problems associated with free movement in the EU – with some countries experiencing skills shortages due to the emigration of workers – these should be addressed collectively by all EU countries, working on solutions together. What is clear is that one country shutting the doors on everyone else is a self-defeating policy when it comes to addressing the differing needs of different countries in Europe.”
Notes:
1. FOI request by Heart Radio reveals (provided by Carrian Jones of Heart Radio: Carrian.Jones@heart.co.uk Further information on request)
Cornwall Partnership: 22 nurses from the EU, 6 non-EU
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust: 48 registered nurses and 30 healthcare support workers of non-British nationality. The Trust currently has nurse vacancies of 194.16 FTE (registered nurses) and 116.24 FTE (healthcare support workers).
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust: 116 nurses from overseas, 77 from EU countries
Other NHS Trusts did not respond or said they did not have such information.
read moreToday I was sworn in as the newly elected MP for Wokingham. It was privilege. The solemn ceremony is designed to remind MPs of the seriousness of their job, and the role of Parliament is making government and authority accountable to the people. I am… read more
Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, responding to news that senior Conservatives are urging a u-turn on their energy price cap manifesto promise, said:
“If correct, this is potentially another stunning U-turn from a weak and wobbly Prime Minister.
“One in ten households are living in fuel poverty and customers are being overcharged a whopping £2 billion every year. Theresa May unequivocally guaranteed a price cap before the general election but now it appears she is preparing to row back on that promise. It now looks like this price cap was simply an election gimmick and that the Conservatives were never serious about taking action to keep energy bills down.
“Britain needs a serious and long term approach in order to bring energy costs down, not cheap gimmicks that may simply be thrown into the bin just a week after the General Election.”
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