Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how they are seeking to encourage people to pursue a career in the National Health Service or the social care sector.

In December 2019, the Government announced that from September 2020, pre-registration nursing, midwifery and most allied health profession students studying at English universities would benefit from a new, non-repayable, training grant of at least £5,000 per academic year in addition to the funding available already through the Learning Support Fund.

The ‘We are the NHS’ campaign’ returned in September 2019 with a new televised advert and campaign to inspire the next generation of National Health Service nurses in England. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased interest in healthcare careers and the Department is working to make the most of this, for instance, looking to maximise the number of new nursing students starting degrees this autumn.

The Government’s Action Plan for Adult Social Care published last month sets out our aim to increase the social care workforce. This includes a national recruitment campaign in England, launched on 23 April, highlighting the vital role of the social care workforce during this pandemic and the longer-term opportunities for working in care.

We are also developing a new online recruitment platform which will give people wanting to work in social care the opportunity to be considered for multiple job opportunities and help employers to recruit people quickly. This includes access to free online induction training with training providers endorsed by Skills for Care and a fast-tracked Disclosure and Barring Service check to help accelerate the recruitment process.