Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to improve the recruitment of (a) core psychiatry trainees and (b) specialist mental health trainee doctors in the east of England.

Local authorities, in partnership with local National Health Service mental health trusts, are responsible for assessing the needs of their local population and commissioning services to meet these needs.

Health Education England is currently working with the Royal College of Psychiatrists to improve recruitment and retention in core and high core psychiatry training. Initiatives include the #choosepsychiatry campaign, developing run-through training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Widening Access to Specialty Training.