Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to recruit midwives back into full NHS service who continue to work full time hours within the bank system.

In December 2021, we invested a further £9.5 million for maternity services in England to plan, coordinate and deliver workforce developments. This included practical non-clinical support to maternity leadership teams to develop a flexible, adaptive and multi-disciplinary workforce, with a focus on the conversion of temporary staff to substantive staff.

Support for temporary staff to convert to substantive roles within the National Health Service is offered where this is attractive for individuals and discussions take place at a local level. In addition, the opportunity for flexible working is also provided.