International recruitment will continue to make a contribution to the provision of healthcare in the NHS

Department of Health spokesperson

But the number of overseas nurses who were accepted onto the register only rose by 4.1%.

Many are asked to undergo a period of training of up to nine months before they can register and work in the UK.

This is likely to mean that next year's figures will show a significant increase in overseas nursing staff on the register.

The UKCC said that just because a nurse, midwife or health visitor is on the list does not mean they are working in the NHS.

The Liberal Democrats revealed last month that private nursing agencies are bypassing NHS guidelines and recruiting nurses from developing countries.

NHS guidelines prevent trusts from "actively recruiting" from developing countries who are battling to prevent a damaging brain drain.

A spokesman for the council told BBC News Online that the influx of nurses from overseas had been a growing trend, which had "escalated massively" over the last couple of years.

Recruitment drive

The government's commitment to recruit 20,000 more nurses and midwives into the NHS by 2004 has been boosted by the news that the number of new UK-trained nurses and midwives registering has increased for the first time in seven years.

The numbers rose by 10% from 14,035 in 1999-2000 to 15,433 in 2000-2001.

But the rise was not universal. England saw a 13.2% rise, Wales a 9.4% increase, and Northern Ireland a 4.4% rise.

Scotland, however, saw a 7.2% fall.

Last year, Health Secretary Alan Milburn signed an agreement with Spain to recruit 5,000 nurses for the NHS to fill vacancies.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "International recruitment will continue to make a contribution to the provision of healthcare in the NHS."

He said too few nurses had been trained and recruited in the early 1990s, and that measures were being taken to address that.

"We are expanding the workforce and have increased the number of training places, but international recruitment helps stabilise the nursing workforce and reduces the shortfall in the medium to long term."

But the total number on the UKCC register fell from 634,529 in 1999-200 to 632,050 in 2000-2001.

The UKCC speculates that the 0.4% drop has been caused by nursing staff in their 50s retiring.