Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of funding additional domestic medical student places to meet growing NHS demand in (a) Cumbria and Lancashire and (b) England.

The Government has announced a near record increase of an additional 1,500 medical school places for domestic students in England – 630 started this September, with a further 690 starting in 2019/20 and the final 180 in 2020/21. This expansion will also deliver five brand new medical schools in Sunderland, Lancashire, Chelmsford, Lincoln and Canterbury. This has meant an additional 171 places for domestic students in the North West, 81 of which started this September.

On the back of the additional £20 billion additional National Health Service funding, NHS leaders are currently producing a long-term plan that will include proposals for the NHS workforce, training and leadership, which the Government will consider and respond to in due course.