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 increase the number of (a) qualified neurologists and (b) multiple sclerosis nurses in England.

As of October 2022, there are 1,672 full-time equivalent neurologists working in the National Health Service. This is an increase of 559 (50.3%) from 10 years ago (October 2012).

The Government has created nearly 900 additional medical specialty training posts this year, including five additional training posts for neurology.

The Government has funded 1,500 (25%) more medical school places each year for domestic students in England, a 25% increase over three years. This expansion, which was completed in 2020, will increase the supply pipeline in coming years for qualified doctors, including neurologists.

The Government is on track to deliver 50,000 more nurses across hospital and general practice settings overall by 2024. Since September 2020, all eligible nursing, midwifery and allied health profession degree students have received a non-repayable training grant of a minimum of £5,000 per academic year. This will increase the pool of nurses who may go on to become specialists in multiple sclerosis.