On Tuesday 25th August, the Labour party has accused the government of “stealth tax” on the NHS.
According to data released to the Labour party following a freedom of information request, NHS trusts in England have spent at least £15m since 2017 on visa charges.
Labour accused the government of punishing hospital trusts for its own failure to train enough sufficiently qualified nurses and doctors. Before the coronavirus pandemic, NHS trusts in England were facing around 100,000 vacancies, according to NHS providers that represent trusts.
The charge is known as the immigration skills charge and is levied by the Home Office on any employer wanting to apply for a visa for someone to work in the UK for six months or more under either a tier 2 (general) visa or a tier 2 (intra-company transfer) visa.
As part of the UK’s departure from the EU, employers bringing in workers from there may also have to pay the £1,000 charge for the first 12 months of a worker’s employment and £500 for each subsequent six months.
