Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for (a) his policies and (b) the forthcoming UK National Screening Committee review on prostate cancer guidelines of the findings of the report by Prostate Cancer UK entitled Lifetime risk of being diagnosed with, or dying from, prostate cancer by major ethnic group in England 2008–2010, published in July 2015, on the risk of prostate cancer for Black men.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is carrying out an evidence review for prostate cancer screening, and this includes different potential ways of screening the whole population from 40 years of age onwards, and targeted screening programmes aimed at groups of men identified as being at higher than average risk, such as those with a family history, carriers of the BRCA2 gene mutation, and based on ethnicity.
The UK NSC is aware of Prostate Cancer UK’s report, and this will be considered as part of its evidence review process, with further information available at the following link:
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Prostate Cancer UK's study entitled Using real world data to bridge the evidence gap left by prostate cancer screening trials, published in October 2024, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the finding relating to the reduction in potential harm following prostate-specific antigen testing.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) does not currently recommend screening for prostate cancer. This is because of the inaccuracy of the current best test for the condition, the prostate specific antigen test.
A UK NSC evidence review for prostate cancer screening is already underway. We welcome the study by Prostate Cancer UK, and will make sure it is fed into the UK NSC’s review of prostate screening.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have entered the NHS midwifery workforce through (a) pre-registration undergraduate courses, (b) apprenticeships, (c) postgraduate conversion from nursing, (d) return to midwifery programmes, (e) international recruitment and (f) other routes according to the most recent data available to his Department; and what assessment his Department has made of the contribution of each route to growing that workforce over the (i) last and (ii) next five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In order to bring together questions on the education and training of midwives and the flow of staff into the National Health Service midwifery workforce, a number of strands of the available data are presented below.
Data published by the Office for Students, in the Higher Education Students Early Statistics Survey (HESES), collates figures submitted by individual higher education providers to give an indication of the number of students starting in each academic year. The HESES’ data includes figures on undergraduate and postgraduate midwifery courses in England. The latest published data is for those starting courses in 2023. The following table shows the number of undergraduate and postgraduate starters on midwifery courses in England for 2019 to 2023:
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
Undergraduate starters | 2,930 | 3,460 | 3,565 | 3,305 | 3,255 |
Postgraduate starters | 55 | 100 | 135 | 190 | 195 |
Source: The Office for Students’ HESES data for 2023.
The following table shows the number of qualifiers from undergraduate midwifery courses in England, with a qualifier being defined by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) as a student who gained a qualification during the academic year in question, for the academic years 2020/21 to 2022/23:
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
Undergraduate midwifery qualifiers | 1,895 | 2,380 | 2,705 |
Source: HESA’s qualifier data 2023
Note: Data is currently only available up to the academic year 2022/23.
Additionally, there are midwives training through an apprenticeship route. The following table shows the number of starts on midwifery apprenticeships, including apprenticeships within NHS and non-NHS organisations, in each of the last five years:
Year | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Starts | 26 | 39 | 22 | 42 | 72 |
Source: Department for Education Apprenticeships and traineeships statistics, October 2024.
Note: Data on the provisional starts for the year 2023/24 is only available between August 2023 to July 2024.
The Department does not hold data which would allow the identification of the route which joiners to the NHS registered midwifery workforce have taken to become active in the service, or what these flows will be in future years. Data published by NHS England does show the total annual number of staff who join active service across NHS trusts and other core organisations. Joiners are not the same as those recruited to the NHS, as they will include staff returning after breaks in activity. Joiners will also include experienced midwives joining from non-NHS providers. Within this data we can see the number who are joiners at Agenda for Change pay band five, which is where newly qualified or less experience staff would be placed. Data also contains the nationality of staff joining active service, and whilst self-reported nationality is not the same as place of training or previous residence, it does provide a guide to scale. The following table shows the annual number of midwives joining active service in the NHS in England, as well as those joining at band five, and those joining who reported non-United Kingdom nationalities, for each of the last five years up until June:
Year ending | June 2020 | June 2021 | June 2022 | June 2023 | June 2024 |
Annual midwives joining active service | 3,242 | 1,845 | 3,320 | 3,883 | 4,278 |
Joining at band five | 1,685 | 421 | 1,766 | 2,172 | 2,479 |
Joining any grade with a non-UK nationality | 243 | 155 | 247 | 593 | 616 |
Source: NHS England, NHS Workforce Statistics.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people who joined the NHS as a midwife were newly-qualified as midwives in each of last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In order to bring together questions on the education and training of midwives and the flow of staff into the National Health Service midwifery workforce, a number of strands of the available data are presented below.
Data published by the Office for Students, in the Higher Education Students Early Statistics Survey (HESES), collates figures submitted by individual higher education providers to give an indication of the number of students starting in each academic year. The HESES’ data includes figures on undergraduate and postgraduate midwifery courses in England. The latest published data is for those starting courses in 2023. The following table shows the number of undergraduate and postgraduate starters on midwifery courses in England for 2019 to 2023:
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
Undergraduate starters | 2,930 | 3,460 | 3,565 | 3,305 | 3,255 |
Postgraduate starters | 55 | 100 | 135 | 190 | 195 |
Source: The Office for Students’ HESES data for 2023.
The following table shows the number of qualifiers from undergraduate midwifery courses in England, with a qualifier being defined by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) as a student who gained a qualification during the academic year in question, for the academic years 2020/21 to 2022/23:
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
Undergraduate midwifery qualifiers | 1,895 | 2,380 | 2,705 |
Source: HESA’s qualifier data 2023
Note: Data is currently only available up to the academic year 2022/23.
Additionally, there are midwives training through an apprenticeship route. The following table shows the number of starts on midwifery apprenticeships, including apprenticeships within NHS and non-NHS organisations, in each of the last five years:
Year | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Starts | 26 | 39 | 22 | 42 | 72 |
Source: Department for Education Apprenticeships and traineeships statistics, October 2024.
Note: Data on the provisional starts for the year 2023/24 is only available between August 2023 to July 2024.
The Department does not hold data which would allow the identification of the route which joiners to the NHS registered midwifery workforce have taken to become active in the service, or what these flows will be in future years. Data published by NHS England does show the total annual number of staff who join active service across NHS trusts and other core organisations. Joiners are not the same as those recruited to the NHS, as they will include staff returning after breaks in activity. Joiners will also include experienced midwives joining from non-NHS providers. Within this data we can see the number who are joiners at Agenda for Change pay band five, which is where newly qualified or less experience staff would be placed. Data also contains the nationality of staff joining active service, and whilst self-reported nationality is not the same as place of training or previous residence, it does provide a guide to scale. The following table shows the annual number of midwives joining active service in the NHS in England, as well as those joining at band five, and those joining who reported non-United Kingdom nationalities, for each of the last five years up until June:
Year ending | June 2020 | June 2021 | June 2022 | June 2023 | June 2024 |
Annual midwives joining active service | 3,242 | 1,845 | 3,320 | 3,883 | 4,278 |
Joining at band five | 1,685 | 421 | 1,766 | 2,172 | 2,479 |
Joining any grade with a non-UK nationality | 243 | 155 | 247 | 593 | 616 |
Source: NHS England, NHS Workforce Statistics.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many students were enrolled on (a) pre-registration undergraduate and (b) postgraduate midwifery courses in each year of study in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In order to bring together questions on the education and training of midwives and the flow of staff into the National Health Service midwifery workforce, a number of strands of the available data are presented below.
Data published by the Office for Students, in the Higher Education Students Early Statistics Survey (HESES), collates figures submitted by individual higher education providers to give an indication of the number of students starting in each academic year. The HESES’ data includes figures on undergraduate and postgraduate midwifery courses in England. The latest published data is for those starting courses in 2023. The following table shows the number of undergraduate and postgraduate starters on midwifery courses in England for 2019 to 2023:
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
Undergraduate starters | 2,930 | 3,460 | 3,565 | 3,305 | 3,255 |
Postgraduate starters | 55 | 100 | 135 | 190 | 195 |
Source: The Office for Students’ HESES data for 2023.
The following table shows the number of qualifiers from undergraduate midwifery courses in England, with a qualifier being defined by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) as a student who gained a qualification during the academic year in question, for the academic years 2020/21 to 2022/23:
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
Undergraduate midwifery qualifiers | 1,895 | 2,380 | 2,705 |
Source: HESA’s qualifier data 2023
Note: Data is currently only available up to the academic year 2022/23.
Additionally, there are midwives training through an apprenticeship route. The following table shows the number of starts on midwifery apprenticeships, including apprenticeships within NHS and non-NHS organisations, in each of the last five years:
Year | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Starts | 26 | 39 | 22 | 42 | 72 |
Source: Department for Education Apprenticeships and traineeships statistics, October 2024.
Note: Data on the provisional starts for the year 2023/24 is only available between August 2023 to July 2024.
The Department does not hold data which would allow the identification of the route which joiners to the NHS registered midwifery workforce have taken to become active in the service, or what these flows will be in future years. Data published by NHS England does show the total annual number of staff who join active service across NHS trusts and other core organisations. Joiners are not the same as those recruited to the NHS, as they will include staff returning after breaks in activity. Joiners will also include experienced midwives joining from non-NHS providers. Within this data we can see the number who are joiners at Agenda for Change pay band five, which is where newly qualified or less experience staff would be placed. Data also contains the nationality of staff joining active service, and whilst self-reported nationality is not the same as place of training or previous residence, it does provide a guide to scale. The following table shows the annual number of midwives joining active service in the NHS in England, as well as those joining at band five, and those joining who reported non-United Kingdom nationalities, for each of the last five years up until June:
Year ending | June 2020 | June 2021 | June 2022 | June 2023 | June 2024 |
Annual midwives joining active service | 3,242 | 1,845 | 3,320 | 3,883 | 4,278 |
Joining at band five | 1,685 | 421 | 1,766 | 2,172 | 2,479 |
Joining any grade with a non-UK nationality | 243 | 155 | 247 | 593 | 616 |
Source: NHS England, NHS Workforce Statistics.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people graduated from pre-registration undergraduate midwifery courses as newly-qualified midwives in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In order to bring together questions on the education and training of midwives and the flow of staff into the National Health Service midwifery workforce, a number of strands of the available data are presented below.
Data published by the Office for Students, in the Higher Education Students Early Statistics Survey (HESES), collates figures submitted by individual higher education providers to give an indication of the number of students starting in each academic year. The HESES’ data includes figures on undergraduate and postgraduate midwifery courses in England. The latest published data is for those starting courses in 2023. The following table shows the number of undergraduate and postgraduate starters on midwifery courses in England for 2019 to 2023:
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
Undergraduate starters | 2,930 | 3,460 | 3,565 | 3,305 | 3,255 |
Postgraduate starters | 55 | 100 | 135 | 190 | 195 |
Source: The Office for Students’ HESES data for 2023.
The following table shows the number of qualifiers from undergraduate midwifery courses in England, with a qualifier being defined by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) as a student who gained a qualification during the academic year in question, for the academic years 2020/21 to 2022/23:
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
Undergraduate midwifery qualifiers | 1,895 | 2,380 | 2,705 |
Source: HESA’s qualifier data 2023
Note: Data is currently only available up to the academic year 2022/23.
Additionally, there are midwives training through an apprenticeship route. The following table shows the number of starts on midwifery apprenticeships, including apprenticeships within NHS and non-NHS organisations, in each of the last five years:
Year | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Starts | 26 | 39 | 22 | 42 | 72 |
Source: Department for Education Apprenticeships and traineeships statistics, October 2024.
Note: Data on the provisional starts for the year 2023/24 is only available between August 2023 to July 2024.
The Department does not hold data which would allow the identification of the route which joiners to the NHS registered midwifery workforce have taken to become active in the service, or what these flows will be in future years. Data published by NHS England does show the total annual number of staff who join active service across NHS trusts and other core organisations. Joiners are not the same as those recruited to the NHS, as they will include staff returning after breaks in activity. Joiners will also include experienced midwives joining from non-NHS providers. Within this data we can see the number who are joiners at Agenda for Change pay band five, which is where newly qualified or less experience staff would be placed. Data also contains the nationality of staff joining active service, and whilst self-reported nationality is not the same as place of training or previous residence, it does provide a guide to scale. The following table shows the annual number of midwives joining active service in the NHS in England, as well as those joining at band five, and those joining who reported non-United Kingdom nationalities, for each of the last five years up until June:
Year ending | June 2020 | June 2021 | June 2022 | June 2023 | June 2024 |
Annual midwives joining active service | 3,242 | 1,845 | 3,320 | 3,883 | 4,278 |
Joining at band five | 1,685 | 421 | 1,766 | 2,172 | 2,479 |
Joining any grade with a non-UK nationality | 243 | 155 | 247 | 593 | 616 |
Source: NHS England, NHS Workforce Statistics.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of flexible working arrangements for NHS midwives.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All employees covered by the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook have the right to request flexible working from day one, without the need to provide a justification.
NHS England is committed to promoting and supporting flexible working opportunities in midwifery, and across the wider National Health Service workforce. They have brought together midwifery leaders from across the system to support the implementation of flexible working across maternity services. There are no plans to assess the adequacy of flexible working arrangements specifically for maternity staff at this time.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is issuing guidance to GPs encouraging them to discuss a PSA test with men at the highest risk of developing prostate cancer.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee is carrying out an evidence review of prostate cancer screening which includes looking at the evidence for targeted screening of specific high-risk groups. This will determine whether a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test-based screening programme for high-risk groups could provide more good than harm.
Based on the current evidence, the guidance to general practices is not to proactively offer a PSA to men without symptoms as the high level of inaccuracy could lead to unnecessary tests that carry risks of life-changing harm, such as urinary and faecal incontinence, sexual dysfunction, as well as a smaller but serious risk of sepsis. Additionally, some prostate cancers may not produce elevated PSA levels, leading to false-negative results that provide deceptive reassurance.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of supporting the wider roll-out of air filtration systems within NHS services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made. National Health Service organisations and primary care providers regularly review all their estates locally to ensure they meet the required standards for ventilation and infection, as well as the required prevention and control measures, and will invest in improvements where required. Guidance is provided to the NHS on air quality in its facilities in the Health Technical Memorandum 03-01: Specialised ventilation for healthcare premises, and the NHS Estates Technical Bulletin (NETB 2023/01A): application of HEPA filter devices for air cleaning in healthcare spaces: guidance and standards, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/specialised-ventilation-for-healthcare-buildings/
Guidance to the NHS on air quality in its facilities is also provided in the NHS Estates Technical Bulletin (NETB 2023/01B): application of ultraviolet (UVC) devices for air cleaning in occupied healthcare spaces: guidance and standards, with further information available at the following link:
NHS guidance is reviewed and updated in response to changes in clinical practice, technology, and risk assessments.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Levelling Up the United Kingdom White Paper, published in February 2022, whether he is taking steps to implement the Community Eatwell pilot.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The prevention of ill health is a clear mission for the Government, and the cornerstone of this is supporting people to live healthier lives. The Government is committed to creating the healthiest generation of children ever, as set out in our Child Health Action Plan. The Healthy Start scheme was introduced in 2006 to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households. It can be used to buy, or can be put towards the cost of, fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk, and infant formula. Healthy Start beneficiaries have access to free Healthy Start Vitamins for pregnant women and children aged under four years old.
The Government also encourages everyone to have a healthy balanced diet in line with the United Kingdom’s Eatwell Guide. Further action on diet and obesity under the Government’s Health Mission will be set out in due course.