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 increase the size of the breast imaging and diagnostic workforce.

‘We are the NHS: People Plan for 2020/21 – action for us all’ sets out actions to support transformation across the National Health Service. This includes Health Education England (HEE) prioritising the training of 400 clinical endoscopists and 450 reporting radiographers. HEE is also facilitating a number of initiatives within breast imaging, including setting up and funding a National Breast Imaging Academy to tackle national workforce issues.

Alongside most other allied health profession students, diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers studying pre-registration courses at English universities are eligible for a new, non-repayable training grant of at least £5,000 per academic year – in addition to funding available through the Learning Support Fund and Student Loans Company. They can also benefit from further funding of up to £3,000 to cover, for example, childcare costs.