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 provide senior leaders in the NHS with Continuous Professional Development.

At an operational level, National Health Service organisations are responsible for supporting the personal and professional development of the staff they employ.

We fully recognise the importance of strong and effective leadership across the NHS and the impact this can have on patient care and organisational culture. In June 2022, Leadership for a collaborative and inclusive future, a review led by General Sir Gordon Messenger was published. The review made seven recommendations to strengthen leadership and management across health and social care.

The recommendations, which were accepted by the Government and are being taken forward by NHS England, will foster and replicate the best examples of leadership through improved training, career development and talent management, and through embedding inclusive cultures and behaviours within health and care.

Recommendation 3 sets out the need for consistent management standards that will be delivered through accredited training and to include a single set of unified, core leadership and management standards for managers, with training and development bundles to meet these standards.