§ Mr. MalinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what consultation the Overseas Labour Service had with the Department of Health over obtaining work permits for Filipina nurses to come to work in the United Kingdom and what efforts he took to satisfy himself that they could not recruit suitable persons within either the United Kingdom or the EEA; what evidence was provided by the Department of Health that the jobs could not be done equally well by someone resident in the EEA; how many work permits have been issued and under which category; and if he will publish the current register of occupations which he considers to be in short supply nationally and likely to be so within the EEA. [70372]
§ Ms HodgeThe Department's Overseas Labour Service and the Department of Health discuss skill 711W shortages and agree work permit policy on nursing on a regular basis. There has been no specific consultation about work permits for Philippine nurses. The views of the Department of Health are not sought on each work permit application for a nurse. The work permit arrangements require the employer who applies for a work permit to show that they have been unable to employ a suitably qualified applicant from the resident labour market. This requirement is set aside for those occupations where there is a recognised acute shortage.
Recognised shortage occupations for work permits are currently: Actuaries, Chartered Clinical Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Pharmacists, Veterinary Surgeons and nursing posts in the following specialisms—Intensive Care, Theatre, Paediatric Intensive Care, Mental Health, Neo-natal and Learning Disabilities.
Applications1 to initial teacher training courses, by level, gender, phase and subject, in England and Wales, academic year of entry 1996–97 to 1998–99 Academic year of entry 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 Postgraduate2 Undergraduate3 Postgraduate2 Undergraduate3 Postgraduate2 Undergraduate3 Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Primary 2,383 10,200 14,221 78,072 2,491 10,726 11,597 66,520 2,303 10,431 9,203 56,212 Secondary Mathematics 1,140 733 350 400 921 658 314 275 737 551 227 162 English 937 2,260 247 518 863 2,241 148 288 868 2,273 168 495 Science 1,877 1,821 349 291 1,661 1,604 278 239 1,331 1,547 213 192 Languages 540 2,140 33 151 539 2,022 25 84 520 1,922 19 67 Technology 840 709 982 695 870 735 908 584 811 784 653 540 History 1,114 903 23 52 1,044 857 0 0 949 844 0 0 Geography 662 635 21 20 572 616 13 16 532 532 12 25 Physical Education 711 434 5,037 4,095 828 544 4,374 3,469 819 587 3,858 3,442 Art 227 712 20 50 395 1,108 16 47 381 1,025 21 55 Music 250 344 117 234 251 298 40 38 221 323 52 23 Religious education 375 470 41 101 347 479 17 60 322 515 12 45 Other 384 436 1,339 1,094 297 324 1,226 1,003 199 311 695 739 Total secondary 9,057 11,597 8,559 7,701 8,588 11,486 7,359 6,103 7,690 11,214 5,930 5,785 Overall total 11,440 21,797 22,780 85,773 11,079 22,212 18,956 72,623 9,993 21,645 15,133 61,997 1 UCAS count up to six applications per applicant, whilst GTTR count one application per applicant 2 Postgraduate figures exclude applications made directly to the ITT provider 3 Undergraduate figures exclude applications made at the clearing stage Source:
Undergraduate applications—Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)
Postgraduate applications—Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR)