Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the revised Long-Term Workforce Plan will include a detailed plan for (a) meeting demand for training and (b) resolving competition ratios in the NHS.

We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure that patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.

To reform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of the Government’s five long-term missions. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision. We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.

We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the NHS in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where the need is greatest.

The Medical Training Review is overseen by NHS England’s National Medical Director and the Chief Medical Officer. The review will hear about best practice, listen to concerns, including issues around training pathways and the capacity, quality, and inclusivity of training, and will explore ideas and thoughts about how postgraduate medical training could evolve for the future. An engagement exercise will run through to June this year, with findings to be reported in the summer.