Boris Johnson was forced into an embarrassing U-turn this afternoon after a major Tory rebellion against hiking a £400 fee charged to health and care workers from non-EU countries.
The Prime Minister scrambled to make an exemption for the heroes of the battle against coronavirus amid strong warnings that the Government looked “mean-spirited and petty”.
Three Conservative chairmen of Commons select committees and a string of backbenchers revealed to the Evening Standard they were calling on the PM to “think again” about the fee which is due to soar to £624 in October. A former party chairman called it “monstrous and immoral”.
Within hours of our story No 10 announced that Mr Johnson had asked the Home Office and the Department for Health and Social Care to remove NHS and care workers from the NHS surcharge as soon as possible.
It is a victory for new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer who spotlighted the burden placed by the charge on low paid hospital porters and care workers in the Commons.
Changing the rules is a headache for the Government because any exemption means drawing a line that means some workers will be exempt and others still have to pay. Delivery workers who serve the health and care sectors, for example, might not benefit.
Number 10 said work was "under way on how to implement the change" but full detals would not be ready for some days.
“As the PM said in the House of Commons, he has been thinking about this a great deal," a spokesperson added.
“He been a personal beneficiary of carers from abroad and understands the difficulties faced by our amazing NHS staff.
“The purpose of the NHS surcharge is to benefit the NHS, help to care for the sick and save lives. NHS and care workers from abroad who are granted visas are doing this already by the fantastic contribution which they make.”
Earlier the charge was criticised severely by senior Conservatives.
Public administration and constitutional affairs committee chairman William Wragg said “now is the time for a generosity of spirit towards those who have done so much good”.
But the U-turn was immediately welcomed by opposition leaders.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: "Boris Johnson is right to have U-turned and backed our proposal to remove the NHS charge for health professionals and care workers.
"This is a victory for common decency and the right thing to do.
"We cannot clap our carers one day and then charge them to use our NHS the next."
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner added: "This is excellent news and a very welcome move from the government for those brave workers fighting #COVID19".
Earlier, Bob Neill, chairman of the justice select committee and MP for Bromley and Chislehurst, had said: “My family have had direct experience of the work they do, as you can imagine.
"They make a vital contribution and we should show some generosity of spirit as a nation and also demonstrate to them that they are genuinely valued. It’s a small sum in the overall scheme of things.”
Education committee chairman Robert Halfon added: “I hope the Government thinks again on this surcharge, or, at the very least, comes up with a payment scheme to ensure that all those NHS workers who are on low pay have higher wages and a better standard of living.”
Former Conservative Party vice-chairman Sir Roger Gale who warned that not to waive the current surcharge “would rightly be perceived as mean-spirited, doctrinaire and petty”.
Ex-Conservative Party chairman Lord Patten has told 5Live it was “immoral and monstrous” that foreign NHS workers should be charged for healthcare.
“It’s appalling, it’s immoral,” he told Emma Barnett. “We depend in our care homes on people who come from other countries. I think this is monstrous that people who come from overseas to help and risk their lives in really difficult circumstances aren’t treated properly. There’s a basic sense of fair play in this country which I hope Mr Johnson will recognise.
“It would be madness and wickedness not to recognise the contribution which these people are making. It would be awful if we were to make people pay more when they are making such a big contribution to the well-being of older people in society.”