Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support podiatrists within primary care to respond to increasing trends foot ulceration and amputation and to maintain peoples’ walking, working, and wellbeing.

Evidence suggests that multidisciplinary footcare teams (MDFTs), including podiatrists, play an important role in diabetes footcare pathways and can significantly reduce amputations and diabetic foot disease.

Between 2020/21 and 2023/24, a further £75 million of targeted funding is being allocated for the treatment and care of people living with diabetes. This will support new or expanded services towards the provision of universal access to MDFTs. NHS England continues to work with local teams to identify and develop plans to address gaps in service provision. General practitioner practices are incentivised through the Quality and Outcomes Framework to identify and proactively manage diabetic patients in line with guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. This includes ensuring a foot examination and risk classification is recorded each year