E-petition debate: e-Petitions relating to the recognition and reward of health and social care workers

Associated E-petitions

Above 100,000 signatures

Increase pay for NHS healthcare workers and recognise their work (300073)

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) issued a response on 4 May 2020, which included noting that “the Department of Health and Social Care has reached multi-year pay and contract reform agreements with trade unions across the NHS workforce.” It also said the forthcoming NHS People Plan “will set out the support and recognition that all NHS staff can expect to receive from their employer”.

10,000-100,000 signatures

Give non-British citizens who are NHS workers automatic citizenship (305129)

The Home Office response on 6 May 2020 included a statement that “we are not currently looking at amending the citizenship requirements or introducing an automatic grant of it” and said it had “made provision for doctors, nurses and paramedics working for the NHS to automatically have their visas extended by one year if it is due to expire before 1 October 2020”.

Reduce or scrap the immigration health surcharge for overseas NHS staff (301948)

The Home Office response  on 29 May 2020 included a statement that “the Prime Minister has asked the Home Secretary and the Department of Health and Social Care to work together to exempt NHS and care staff from the immigration health surcharge. This means the Immigration Health Surcharge will not be increased for this group of workers but will instead be removed”.

We would like the Government to consider social care as equally important to the NHS (302897)

The DHSC’s response on 20 April 2020 included a commitment to “bring forward a plan for social care this year” and was currently considering how to take forward cross-party talks on the issue.

Less than 10,000 signatures

• Award Covid-19 medals to all emergency services and involved armed forces (302613)
• Reward our healthcare heroes now for risking their lives to fight Covid-19 (318741)
• Incentivise NHS staff during the COVID-19 outbreak by making wages untaxable (304595)
• Reduce student debt for student nurses and midwives (300079)
• Write off all student loans for all NHS staff fighting COVID19 (310559)

UK Parliament Committee Proceedings

• House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, Home Office must end discrimination against social care and NHS support staff and include them in visa extension scheme (2020)—including Full Report
• House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee, Social care: Funding and Workforce (ongoing)
• House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee, Delivering Core NHS services during the pandemic and beyond (ongoing)

Library Briefings

• Covid-19 and Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities (2020)
• NHS staff from overseas: statistics (2020)
• Funding for healthcare students in England (2020)
• Coronavirus: implications for the higher and further education sectors in England (2020)
• Immigration Health surcharge (2020)
• Mental Health Awareness Week: The impact of coronavirus on health and social care workers (2020)
• Coronavirus: Health and social care key issues and sources (2020)
• Adult social care: Policy developments under the current Government (England) (2020)
• Nursing workforce shortage in England (2020)
• Paying for social care: 20 years of inaction (2019)
• Adult social care: The Government’s ongoing policy review and anticipated Green Paper (England) (2019)

Other relevant briefings

• Nuffield Trust, A public policy blind spot? The possible futures of the social care workforce (2020)
• NHS Employers, COVID-19 guidance for NHS workforce leaders (2020)
• NHS Providers, Supporting staff (2020)
• Skills for Care, The state of the adult social care sector and workforce in England (2019)— including Full report (pdf).
• Nuffield Trust, The Gender pay gap in the English NHS: Analysis of some of the underlying causes (2019)
• Health Foundation, Falling short: The NHS workforce challenge (2019)