§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 25 November regarding ethical foreign nurse recruitment if he will list the names of the agencies that have been reported; what investigations have been undertaken; and what action has been taken against any agency found guilty of breaches. [84771]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer 2 December 2002]: This information is held in confidence. In each case behaviour which appeared to be inconsistent with the Code of Practice was reported and the agency was given the opportunity to respond to the allegations. In each case officials have been satisfied that the organisation in question is operating in line with the Code of Practice.
This process will be followed in all cases, but if any allegation is substantiated, the agency will be removed from the list. At this stage, the information will be publicly available.