HL Deb 17 December 2001 vol 630 c22WA
Baroness Masham of Ilton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why there is such a long delay for qualified nurses coming from abroad gaining their United Kingdom registration from the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing. [HL1919]

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

The number of applications for registration with the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) from overseas has trebled in the last two years. The UKCC has taken on additional staff and introduced operational standards to ensure that those aspects of the process that are within the UKCC's control are handled effectively. While the UKCC endeavours to keep the length of the process to a minimum, some delays do occur when information from or on behalf of an applicant is received late or is incomplete.