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 ensure that community podiatry services have sufficient numbers of podiatrists to meet patient demand.

The Government recognises that podiatrists make an invaluable contribution to service both in the National Health Service and community.

Health Education England (HEE) published Facing the Facts, Shaping the Future, a draft workforce strategy for health and social care, in December 2017. HEE is working with its partners across health and social care to develop a final strategy, which they will publish later this year. The forthcoming health and care workforce strategy will be developed in parallel with the long-term plan for the NHS, to ensure this reflects and supports the plan. The workforce strategy will set out our commitment to shaping the face of the NHS and social care workforce for the next decade.

The funding reforms which came into force on 1 August 2017 mean we have moved away from centrally imposed number controls and financial limitations on training places, creating a sustainable model for universities and the healthcare workforce supply. As a result, we expect this to enable up to 10,000 additional nursing, midwifery and allied health profession training places over this parliament.

Healthcare students will now typically receive at least a 25% increase in the financial resources provided to them whilst they study, compared to previous arrangements under the NHS bursary scheme. Eligible healthcare students also have access to additional government funding for those with children, support for travel to clinical placements and an exceptional support fund in eligible cases.

Additionally, HEE continues to engage with the Office for Students over the Strategic Interventions in Health Education Disciplines programme and is monitoring educational course data and workforce numbers in order to ensure small and vulnerable professions such as podiatry are supported and workforce supply is maintained now and in the future. Podiatry is the first allied health profession to offer an apprenticeship route to training. HEE will continue to monitor and work with employers to support the apprenticeship route whilst it is in its infancy. This should help to widen access and participation to programmes and the profession.