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 ensure that newly qualified midwives in Dorset can secure employment at local NHS trusts upon completing their training.

Decisions about the employment of newly qualified midwives is a matter for individual National Health Service trusts, including in Dorset. Trusts manage their recruitment at a local level to ensure they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.

In summer 2025, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.