Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) headcount and (b) FTE staff were employed by NHS England on (a) 4 July 2024 and (b) 14 October 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of June 2024, the headcount for NHS England was 15,803, and the full-time equivalent staff employed was 14,327.6. These figures are published and available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dhsc-workforce-management-information.
We are still finalising figures for October, and this will be published in due course.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the costs of the Employment Rights Bill to the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No estimate of costs has been made of the Employment Rights Bill to the National Health Service. NHS terms and conditions of service currently provide employees with entitlements above the statutory minimum requirements, reflecting the sector’s commitment to supporting its workforce and maintaining high standards of employment practice.
The changes to the Employment Rights Bill are designed to enhance protections for employees, proving greater job security and clarity around employment terms. The Government’s commitment to deliver reforms to improve working conditions and promote fair treatment in the workplace is set out by the Plan to Make Work Pay. Good, well paid work will mean a healthier and happier workforce which in turn eases pressure on the NHS.
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Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the annual NHS total workforce growth (a) was annually from 2022/23 onwards and (b) is projected to be over the next three years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes monthly Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics for England. These include staff employed by hospital trusts and integrated care boards but excludes staff working for other providers such as in primary care or social care. This data is drawn from the Electronic Staff Record, the human resources system for the National Health Service, and is available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics
The most recent published workforce data can be found within the July 2025, which includes selected preliminary statistics for August 2025, section of the publication, within the file Preliminary - NHS HCHS Workforce Statistics, Trusts and core organisations – data tables, August 2025. Within this file, a time series of the total full time equivalent (FTE) and headcount staffing levels for NHS trusts and organisations across England can be found in worksheet 1.
In the new year, we will publish a 10 Year Workforce plan, which will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2024 to Question 16483 on Department of Health and Social Care: Staff, what the (a) headcount and (b) FTE number of officials working in his Department was in each month since October 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This data is published monthly at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dhsc-workforce-management-information#2025
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what annual percentage increases in healthcare demand is the 10 Year Heath Plan based.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan is not based on a specific percentage growth rate in demand for health care. Instead, backed by an additional £29 billion, the plan sets out how the health system will seize the opportunities provided by new technology, medicines, and innovation to deliver better care for all patients, no matter where they live or how much they earn, as well as better value for taxpayers.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision to discontinue the electronic Bed and Capacity Management Systems initiative on (a) A&E waits and (b) patient transfers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The decision not to proceed with stand-alone investment into electronic bed management systems was based on value for money with other investments offering greater benefits for patients.
The Government is committed to returning accident and emergency services to the standards patients rightly expect. Our new urgent and emergency care plan, published on 6 June 2025, sets out a fundamental shift in the approach to urgent and emergency care. It will drive collaboration across the system to deliver improvements for patients this year, backed by nearly £450 million of capital investment.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure there is adequate infrastructure to offer access to treatment for people living with inherited cardiac conditions in the East of England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has a published a national service specification for inherited cardiac conditions. This sets out what guidance should be followed, and the services provided to support diagnosis and treatment of patients with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease. This also includes support to families requiring follow up due to a death from this cause. The specification is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cardiology-inherited-cardiac-conditions.pdf
The national service specification also includes a requirement for specialised inherited cardiac conditions services to investigate suspected cases.
NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification working with a broad range of stakeholders including NHS clinical experts, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice and the British Heart Foundation.
There are plans for all referrals to the Inherited Cardiac Conditions service in Cambridgeshire to go to Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Papworth Hospital. This will operate a specialist centre for Cambridgeshire, with a multi-disciplinary team already in place to support this.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) filled and (b) unfilled full-time equivalent roles there were in each of the NHS regional teams in (i) 2023-24, (ii) 2024-25 and (iii) 2025-26.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table sets out the full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in NHS England’s regional teams as of 30 March 2025:
Directorates / Regions | Budgeted FTE | Staff List FTE | Vacant FTE | Vacancy Rate |
Region - East of England | 804.1 | 650.2 | 153.9 | 19.10% |
Region - London | 1,032.50 | 916.7 | 115.8 | 11.20% |
Region - Midlands | 1,085.70 | 929.7 | 156.1 | 14.40% |
Region - North East & Yorkshire | 844.7 | 759.3 | 85.4 | 10.10% |
Region - North West | 756.6 | 684.7 | 71.9 | 9.50% |
Region - South East | 949.2 | 783.6 | 165.5 | 17.40% |
Region - South West | 710.3 | 621.5 | 88.8 | 12.50% |
Total | 6,183.00 | 5,345.70 | 837.3 | 13.50% |
Source: NHS England
Notes:
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in East England are currently awaiting treatment for inherited cardiac conditions; and if he will make a comparative estimate of the length of waiting times with the rest of the UK.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Inherited cardiac conditions (ICCs) are a group of largely monogenic disorders affecting the heart, its conducting system and vasculature. Waiting times data for ICCs is not available nationally in the Waiting List Minimum Data Set (WLDMS). Diagnosis codes, which could be used to identify patients with ICCs, are not collected in the WLMDS. While treatment codes are collected, there are no individual treatment codes for ICCs that could alternatively be used to identify patients waiting for treatment for an ICC. We are therefore unable to separate patients with an ICC from wider cardiac patients in England at a national or regional level.
The NHS England East of England Cardiac Network team for 2025/26 focuses on improving referral to treatment times across cardiology, improving access to cardiac diagnostics and ensuring patients access the specialists service that is required such as the ICC services across Royal Papworth Hospital and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
We are taking steps to improve access to diagnostic equipment and other services for ICC in East England, including new innovations wherever possible. For example, James Paget University Hospital has piloted a scheme that focuses echocardiograms in heart failure referral pathways. This streamlines echocardiogram waits across all conditions. The scheme is now being planned in Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn and being considered in Milton Keynes University Hospital as well as in Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board.
NHS England is also piloting the ‘Beat to Treat’ programme at Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn, which uses handheld, AI assisted echocardiograms in clinic and point of care testing for blood tests that are used to assess for heart failure. This will enable results to be received on the day and will allow for treatment to start at the first clinic appointment. This scheme will improve the accuracy of referrals for echocardiogram, refining the waiting list for this scan across all conditions, including ICC.
There are plans to introduce a single point of access for all referrals to the ICC service in Cambridgeshire, namely Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Papworth Hospital. Referrals will be triaged by both teams, to either the Royal Papworth Hospital or Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust element of the service and that there would be a clear standard operating procedure for how this would work and be managed, moving therefore to both sites operating as a joint service for these conditions. A multi-disciplinary team is already in place to support this, as well as access to newer therapies.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to (a) diagnostic equipment and (b) other services for inherited cardiac conditions in East England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Inherited cardiac conditions (ICCs) are a group of largely monogenic disorders affecting the heart, its conducting system and vasculature. Waiting times data for ICCs is not available nationally in the Waiting List Minimum Data Set (WLDMS). Diagnosis codes, which could be used to identify patients with ICCs, are not collected in the WLMDS. While treatment codes are collected, there are no individual treatment codes for ICCs that could alternatively be used to identify patients waiting for treatment for an ICC. We are therefore unable to separate patients with an ICC from wider cardiac patients in England at a national or regional level.
The NHS England East of England Cardiac Network team for 2025/26 focuses on improving referral to treatment times across cardiology, improving access to cardiac diagnostics and ensuring patients access the specialists service that is required such as the ICC services across Royal Papworth Hospital and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
We are taking steps to improve access to diagnostic equipment and other services for ICC in East England, including new innovations wherever possible. For example, James Paget University Hospital has piloted a scheme that focuses echocardiograms in heart failure referral pathways. This streamlines echocardiogram waits across all conditions. The scheme is now being planned in Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn and being considered in Milton Keynes University Hospital as well as in Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board.
NHS England is also piloting the ‘Beat to Treat’ programme at Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn, which uses handheld, AI assisted echocardiograms in clinic and point of care testing for blood tests that are used to assess for heart failure. This will enable results to be received on the day and will allow for treatment to start at the first clinic appointment. This scheme will improve the accuracy of referrals for echocardiogram, refining the waiting list for this scan across all conditions, including ICC.
There are plans to introduce a single point of access for all referrals to the ICC service in Cambridgeshire, namely Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Papworth Hospital. Referrals will be triaged by both teams, to either the Royal Papworth Hospital or Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust element of the service and that there would be a clear standard operating procedure for how this would work and be managed, moving therefore to both sites operating as a joint service for these conditions. A multi-disciplinary team is already in place to support this, as well as access to newer therapies.