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 you ensure that NHS workforce planning in England, including for the upcoming 10-year Workforce Plan, is independent and regular.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have committed to publishing regular workforce planning. This will start with the 10 Year Workforce Plan, which will include updated workforce modelling and its underlying assumptions when published in spring 2026. The updated workforce modelling will be supported by independent external scrutiny to assess and test it.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the numbers and distribution of specialists needed for Parkinson's care in the NHS across England.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Official National Health Service workforce statistics provide an overview of the total number of doctors in general specialties like neurology and geriatric medicine, rather than by sub-specialty or specific condition expertise. Therefore, the Department has made no specific assessment of the numbers and distribution of the specialists needed for Parkinson’s care.

NHS England has published a service specification for specialised adult neurology services, which includes Parkinson’s disease as part of its scope. The specification sets out requirements for multidisciplinary care, including access to Parkinson’s disease nurse specialists, consultant neurologists, and allied health professionals. Local commissioners then determine the appropriate workforce within this framework, including exact staffing numbers, based on population needs and service demand.

NHS England is also implementing initiatives such as the Neurology Transformation Programme and the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, which aim to improve access to specialist care, reduce variation, and develop integrated models of service delivery for conditions including Parkinson’s disease. These programmes align with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on Parkinson’s disease, reference code NG71, which recommends that people with Parkinson’s have regular access to specialist staff with expertise in the condition.