Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the boards of (a) NHS Trusts, (b) Care Commissioning Groups and (c) other NHS bodies include allied health professionals; and if he will make a statement.

Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) can be on the boards of any National Health Service body.

NHS England published the ‘AHPs into Action’ framework in January 2017, which outlines the impact and potential of AHPs, including as members of boards.

NHS Improvement has commissioned research into AHP leadership in NHS provider organisations, and has published ‘Leadership of allied health professions in trusts: what exists and what matters’. There has been a measurable increase in the number of AHP strategic leadership positions over the last two years.