6 June 2023

Responding to reports that the recruitment of nurses by high-income countries from poorer nations such as Ghana is “out of control” and leaving health systems struggling due to a “brain-drain” [1], Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green Party said:

“The recruitment of nurses from Ghana and other poorer countries shows that the impacts of years of Tory austerity and underfunding of the NHS is having ripple effects beyond our borders. The staff shortages and recruitment crisis facing the NHS is a direct result of Conservative government policies on pay and training. 

“Neither does a £3bn cut in overseas aid help given the context of a global shortage of health workers [2]. The Green Party would double Overseas Development Aid from the current 0.5% of GNP to 1%.   

“Poorer African countries can ill afford to lose nurses, and people in these countries are dying as a result. The WHO has drawn up a list of developing countries that should not be targeted when actively recruiting health or care professionals and NHS employers should be alert to this list [3]. 

“The UK can afford to pay nurses more and invest properly in our NHS, it’s just a question of political priorities. The Green Party would increase nurses’ pay in line with inflation and restore nurses’ bursaries, paid for through a tax on the super-rich. This would go a long way to solving the staffing crisis currently afflicting the NHS.” 

Notes

1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-65808660 

2. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9567/ 

3. https://www.nhsemployers.org/articles/code-practice-red-and-amber-list-countries 

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The Department for Communities has launched a competition to appoint a Commissioner with Accountancy Qualifications and Related Experience to the Board of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (the Commission).

The Executive Office has today announced that every household in Northern Ireland will receive a leaflet outlining the support, services, and compensation available for victims and survivors of historical institutional abuse.

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26 May 2023

Green Party Finance and Economy spokesperson Molly Scott Cato reacted to Chancellor Jermey Hunt’s claim that a recession would be a price worth paying to bring down inflation [1]:

“It’s easy for a millionaire Chancellor to advocate pushing people into losing their jobs and homes because failed Tory economic policies cannot deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

“However, it is totally unacceptable for people on the receiving end of falling wages and rising prices to be told that they are the problem. 

“An effective and compassionate Chancellor would be looking for ways to support the economy without fuelling inflation. The most obvious would be to pay public sector workers in line with inflation. Since their output is not sold in a market it would barely add to inflation.

“This could be funded by taxing the super-rich, whose consumption does contribute to inflation. Profiteering companies, financial speculators and the wealthy need to bear the burden of dealing with a crisis that is rooted in misguided ideology and Tory unfairness.”

NOTES

[1] https://news.sky.com/story/chancellor-comfortable-with-recession-if-it-brings-down-inflation-12889607?lin 

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