Questioner: Harriet Harman (LAB - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has plans to pay student nurses for the hours they have worked through their student placements during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Helen Whately
The Government worked with the National Health Service to ensure that all nursing students who opted in to paid placements during the COVID-19 pandemic were paid a salary and received automatic NHS pension entitlement at the appropriate band.
Nursing students not on paid placements continued with their academic learning and clinical placements wherever possible. Health Education England worked with health and education providers to minimise disruption to education. Clinical placements allow students to acquire the necessary skills and experience under supervision, to meet education outcomes. Students are not usually paid for their clinical placements. Paid placements were introduced temporarily as part of the Government’s emergency response to the pandemic.
Questioner: Jon Trickett (LAB - Hemsworth)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nurses were trained in (a) 2017, (b) 2018, (c) 2019 and (d) 2020.
Answered by Helen Whately
The following table shows Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) data on people who trained in England and joined the nursing register for the first time in each financial year between 2017 and 2020. To join the nursing register, students complete pre-registration training on a nursing degree course before applying to the NMC following graduation.
2017/2018 | 2018/2019 | 2019/2020 | 2020/2021 |
17,807 | 19,222 | 20,871 | 19,949 |
Source –The NMC Register in England 2021
Note:
Each year runs from 1 April to 31 March.
Questioner: Peter Dowd (LAB - Bootle)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on providing a fully-costed and comprehensive multi-year funding settlement to ensure the adequacy of the size of the Cancer Nurse Specialist workforce to deliver the targets in the NHS Long Term Plan.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Discussions with HM Treasury on any multi-year settlement will take place within the Spending Review process. There are specialist training grants for 250 nurses to become cancer nurse specialists.
Questioner: Jim Shannon (DUP - Strangford)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government will commit to publishing a long-term, fully funded plan for the cancer workforce.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Spending Review 2020 provided £260 million to continue to increase the National Health Service workforce and support commitments made in the NHS Long Term Plan, including the Cancer Workforce Plan phase one published by Health Education England (HEE) in 2017. In 2020/21, HEE is prioritising the training of 400 clinical endoscopists and 450 reporting radiographers. Training grants are being offered for 250 nurses to become cancer nurse specialists and 100 chemotherapy nurses, training 58 biomedical scientists, developing an advanced clinical practice qualification in oncology and extending cancer support-worker training.
HEE is facilitating a number of initiatives to increase clinical nurse specialist capacity which will help tackle the elective backlog, including the development of cancer nurses, through provision of 250 training grants of up to £5,000 each in 2020/21. The grants are aimed at existing and aspiring cancer nurse specialists to enable them to undertake additional training to develop specialist clinical, leadership, education or research capabilities.
Discussions with HM Treasury on any multi-year settlement will take place within the Spending Review process.
Questioner: Jim Shannon (DUP - Strangford)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government will publish a fully-costed multi-year funding settlement as part of the autumn 2021 spending review to ensure an adequate number of cancer nurse specialists to deliver the targets set out in the NHS Long Term Plan.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Spending Review 2020 provided £260 million to continue to increase the National Health Service workforce and support commitments made in the NHS Long Term Plan, including the Cancer Workforce Plan phase one published by Health Education England (HEE) in 2017. In 2020/21, HEE is prioritising the training of 400 clinical endoscopists and 450 reporting radiographers. Training grants are being offered for 250 nurses to become cancer nurse specialists and 100 chemotherapy nurses, training 58 biomedical scientists, developing an advanced clinical practice qualification in oncology and extending cancer support-worker training.
HEE is facilitating a number of initiatives to increase clinical nurse specialist capacity which will help tackle the elective backlog, including the development of cancer nurses, through provision of 250 training grants of up to £5,000 each in 2020/21. The grants are aimed at existing and aspiring cancer nurse specialists to enable them to undertake additional training to develop specialist clinical, leadership, education or research capabilities.
Discussions with HM Treasury on any multi-year settlement will take place within the Spending Review process.
Questioner: Jim Shannon (DUP - Strangford)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has to (a) support and (b) allocate funding to the cancer workforce to ensure that there are sufficient nurses to tackle the treatment backlog and provide the best care for people living with cancer.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Spending Review 2020 provided £260 million to continue to increase the National Health Service workforce and support commitments made in the NHS Long Term Plan, including the Cancer Workforce Plan phase one published by Health Education England (HEE) in 2017. In 2020/21, HEE is prioritising the training of 400 clinical endoscopists and 450 reporting radiographers. Training grants are being offered for 250 nurses to become cancer nurse specialists and 100 chemotherapy nurses, training 58 biomedical scientists, developing an advanced clinical practice qualification in oncology and extending cancer support-worker training.
HEE is facilitating a number of initiatives to increase clinical nurse specialist capacity which will help tackle the elective backlog, including the development of cancer nurses, through provision of 250 training grants of up to £5,000 each in 2020/21. The grants are aimed at existing and aspiring cancer nurse specialists to enable them to undertake additional training to develop specialist clinical, leadership, education or research capabilities.
Discussions with HM Treasury on any multi-year settlement will take place within the Spending Review process.
Questioner: Peter Dowd (LAB - Bootle)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to increase the size of the cancer nursing workforce to help tackle the cancer treatment backlog; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Spending Review 2020 provided £260 million to continue to increase the National Health Service workforce and support commitments made in the NHS Long Term Plan, including the Cancer Workforce Plan phase one published by Health Education England (HEE) in 2017. In 2020/21, HEE is prioritising the training of 400 clinical endoscopists and 450 reporting radiographers. Training grants are being offered for 250 nurses to become cancer nurse specialists and 100 chemotherapy nurses, training 58 biomedical scientists, developing an advanced clinical practice qualification in oncology and extending cancer support-worker training.
HEE is facilitating a number of initiatives to increase clinical nurse specialist capacity which will help tackle the elective backlog, including the development of cancer nurses, through provision of 250 training grants of up to £5,000 each in 2020/21. The grants are aimed at existing and aspiring cancer nurse specialists to enable them to undertake additional training to develop specialist clinical, leadership, education or research capabilities.
Discussions with HM Treasury on any multi-year settlement will take place within the Spending Review process.
Questioner: Peter Dowd (LAB - Bootle)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to produce a long-term and fully funded plan for the cancer workforce.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Spending Review 2020 provided £260 million to continue to increase the National Health Service workforce and support commitments made in the NHS Long Term Plan, including the Cancer Workforce Plan phase one published by Health Education England (HEE) in 2017. In 2020/21, HEE is prioritising the training of 400 clinical endoscopists and 450 reporting radiographers. Training grants are being offered for 250 nurses to become cancer nurse specialists and 100 chemotherapy nurses, training 58 biomedical scientists, developing an advanced clinical practice qualification in oncology and extending cancer support-worker training.
HEE is facilitating a number of initiatives to increase clinical nurse specialist capacity which will help tackle the elective backlog, including the development of cancer nurses, through provision of 250 training grants of up to £5,000 each in 2020/21. The grants are aimed at existing and aspiring cancer nurse specialists to enable them to undertake additional training to develop specialist clinical, leadership, education or research capabilities.
Discussions with HM Treasury on any multi-year settlement will take place within the Spending Review process.
Questioner: Peter Dowd (LAB - Bootle)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on publishing a fully-costed multi-year funding settlement to ensure the adequacy of the size of the cancer nurse specialist workforce to deliver the targets in the NHS Long Term Plan.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Spending Review 2020 provided £260 million to continue to increase the National Health Service workforce and support commitments made in the NHS Long Term Plan, including the Cancer Workforce Plan phase one published by Health Education England (HEE) in 2017. In 2020/21, HEE is prioritising the training of 400 clinical endoscopists and 450 reporting radiographers. Training grants are being offered for 250 nurses to become cancer nurse specialists and 100 chemotherapy nurses, training 58 biomedical scientists, developing an advanced clinical practice qualification in oncology and extending cancer support-worker training.
HEE is facilitating a number of initiatives to increase clinical nurse specialist capacity which will help tackle the elective backlog, including the development of cancer nurses, through provision of 250 training grants of up to £5,000 each in 2020/21. The grants are aimed at existing and aspiring cancer nurse specialists to enable them to undertake additional training to develop specialist clinical, leadership, education or research capabilities.
Discussions with HM Treasury on any multi-year settlement will take place within the Spending Review process.
Questioner: Harriet Harman (LAB - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has plans to back-pay student (a) nurses and (b) midwives who were not entitled to student bursaries or grants and who provided frontline services during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Helen Whately
We have no plans to do so. All nursing and midwifery healthcare students who opted in to paid placements during the COVID-19 outbreak received a salary and automatic National Health Service pension entitlement at the appropriate band.
Questioner: Preet Kaur Gill (LAB - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the letter to the Prime Minister from the Royal College of Midwives on the reduction in the aid budget, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the reduction in the Official Development Assistance budget on the number of midwives, nurses and doctors in training.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK government remains committed to supporting nursing, midwifery and doctor training in low and low-middle income countries through our work to strengthen health systems. This includes our investments in global health initiatives such as the Global Financing Facility and the Global Fund to Fight AIDs, TB and Malaria. It also includes support to large advocacy focused initiatives such as the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. Supported by the UK, the WHO, has developed tools to enhance midwifery training. The Strengthening Midwifery in Bangladesh programme also continues to support the training and licensing of midwives.
The impact of the global pandemic on the economy has forced us to take tough but necessary decisions, including within our global health portfolio. The aid budget has been allocated in accordance with UK strategic priorities against a challenging financial climate of COVID.
Questioner: Paul Beresford (CON - Mole Valley)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of clinical nurse specialists who specialise in (a) urology and (b) prostate cancer who plan to retire in the next 12 months.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Department does not hold information on the number of clinical nurse specialists who specialise in urology and prostate cancer who plan to retire in the next 12 months. No audit has been undertaken an audit of the clinical nurse specialist workforce for either urology or prostate cancer.
We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Health Education England and employers to determine our future workforce and people priorities which will inform the NHS People Plan and future workforce planning requirements in key areas such as cancer. In 2021/22 Health Education England is offering training grants for up to 250 nurses to become cancer nurse specialists and up to 100 nurses to become chemotherapy nurse specialists.
Questioner: Paul Beresford (CON - Mole Valley)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to undertake an audit of the prostate cancer workforce prior to the next iteration of the NHS People Plan.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Department does not hold information on the number of clinical nurse specialists who specialise in urology and prostate cancer who plan to retire in the next 12 months. No audit has been undertaken an audit of the clinical nurse specialist workforce for either urology or prostate cancer.
We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Health Education England and employers to determine our future workforce and people priorities which will inform the NHS People Plan and future workforce planning requirements in key areas such as cancer. In 2021/22 Health Education England is offering training grants for up to 250 nurses to become cancer nurse specialists and up to 100 nurses to become chemotherapy nurse specialists.
Questioner: Paul Beresford (CON - Mole Valley)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has undertaken an audit of the clinical nurse specialist workforce for (a) urology and (b) prostate cancer.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Department does not hold information on the number of clinical nurse specialists who specialise in urology and prostate cancer who plan to retire in the next 12 months. No audit has been undertaken an audit of the clinical nurse specialist workforce for either urology or prostate cancer.
We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Health Education England and employers to determine our future workforce and people priorities which will inform the NHS People Plan and future workforce planning requirements in key areas such as cancer. In 2021/22 Health Education England is offering training grants for up to 250 nurses to become cancer nurse specialists and up to 100 nurses to become chemotherapy nurse specialists.
Questioner: Justin Madders (LAB - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to increase clinical knowledge and skills training for (a) trainee doctors, (b) student nurses and (c) other health professionals.
Answered by Helen Whately
The standard of training for medical and health care professionals is the responsibility of the medical and health care independent statutory regulatory bodies who set the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and approve courses. Higher education institutions write and teach the curricula content that enables their students to meet the regulators’ outcome standards. For postgraduate medical training, the curricula for foundation training is set by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and by individual Royal Colleges and faculties for specialty training. The General Medical Council approves curricula and assessment systems for each medical training programme.