Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of physiotherapists working in the community; what assessment he has made of the potential impact of direct referral will impact on the number of physiotherapists required; and what estimate he has made of that number.

NHS England publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics. These include staff working in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. These statistics show that there were 22,891 full-time equivalent physiotherapists employed in the NHS in January 2023. No assessment has been made of the potential impact of direct referral on the number of physiotherapists required.