Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of Physician Census 2021, what assessment he has made of 52 per cent of advertised consultant physicians posts in England and Wales unfilled in 2021.

No specific assessment has been made. The Department has commissioned Health Education England to review the long-term strategic framework for the health and regulated social care workforce. This will ensure that the workforce has the appropriate skills and behaviours to deliver high standards of care. The outcomes of this review will be available in due course.