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<p>The Government does not agree with conclusions set out in the Immigration Law Practitioners
Association (ILPA) briefing document of 26 October and has published a full impact
assessment on the potential impact of increasing the immigration health surcharge.</p><p>The
impact assessment can be read at this link: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2018/9780111172995/impacts</p><p>The
surcharge is intended to represent a fair and proportionate financial contribution
to the NHS by migrants, commensurate with their temporary immigration status.</p><p>Temporary
migrants will not have built up the long-term relationship and contribution to the
UK that a permanent resident has built up, and will build up, over the course of their
lifetime. It is, therefore, the migrant’s immigration status that determines whether
they pay the surcharge, not their tax contributions or their profession. The Government
recognises however that temporary migrants contribute to the UK economy in a number
of ways, including paying income tax and national insurance; these contributions are
reflected in the surcharge levels, which are below the average per capita cost to
the NHS of treating temporary migrants.</p><p>The Government has no plans to abolish
the surcharge for foreign spouses or partners. Surcharge policy already reflects the
special position of those becoming permanent residents of the UK, as the surcharge
does not apply to those applying for indefinite leave to remain.</p><p>The Government
values very highly the contribution NHS employees recruited from overseas make to
the health system. NHS workers are, however, in no different position to other providers
of essential public services. The Government therefore has no plans to exempt them
from the surcharge. All NHS nurses will however benefit from a pay increase as set
out in the Agenda for Change framework</p><p>The surcharge has delivered over £600
million in additional funding to the NHS since its introduction in 2015. It enables
migrants to access the NHS on the same terms as someone who is ordinarily resident
in the UK, from the point of their arrival. We believe it offers access to health
care services that are far more comprehensive and at a lower cost than many other
countries.</p>
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