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Britain almost doubled the number of visas awarded to foreign migrants coming to work in the health and care sector last year, government data showed, adding to pressure on prime minister Rishi Sunak over immigration ahead of the next general election. Immigration is one of the top three concerns for voters as the country gears up for an election expected later this year. Trailing the opposition Labour party in the polls, Sunak has vowed to bring it down. But data released on Thursday by Home Office was the latest set of statistics to show the scale of the challenge he faces. Britain granted 337,240 work visas in 2023, 26 per cent higher than in 2022, with the rise largely driven by those coming to the country to work in the care home sector. That follows figures released in November which showed annual net migration to the UK hit a record 745,000 in 2022 and has stayed high since. Visas under the 'Skilled Worker - Health and Care' route almost doubled, Thursday's data showed, rising by 91 per cent to 146,477 last year.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has alerted pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy owners via email regarding new emergency legislation governing the prescribing and supply of puberty-suppressing hormones, commonly known as 'puberty blockers', for children and young people under 18 in England, Wales, and Scotland. The regulations apply to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues, used to suppress puberty as part of treating gender incongruence or gender dysphoria in individuals under 18. Effective from 3 June 2024, new private prescriptions for GnRH analogues from prescribers in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland who are not UK registered are banned from being dispensed in Great Britain for patients under 18. The emergency ban on these medicines will remain in effect until September 3, 2024, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced on 29 May, stating that the action has been taken to address risks to "patient safety."