Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of NHS podiatric care appointments in (a) Slough constituency, (b) the South East and (c) the rest of England.

Frimley Integrated Care Board, which commissions National Health Service services for the population of Slough, is currently undertaking a review of podiatry services.

A regional podiatry workforce programme was set up in 2023, working with all six system partners in the South East (SE), working through their integrated care board allied health professionals (AHP) faculties and AHP Councils to address the challenged supply and demand forecast for the region. The SE podiatry programme’s focus is on: building podiatry leadership and influence; supporting the sustainable growth of the podiatry workforce; and transformation and retention, for example by expanding podiatric surgery training opportunities.