Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the 10 Year NHS Workforce Plan will include measures to (a) increase the clinical academic workforce and (b) ensure that all regions have access to a strong clinical academic base.

The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. We are working through how the plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.

The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is the United Kingdom’s largest funder of clinical academic training. The NIHR delivers a comprehensive research career pathway, from internships and predoctoral fellowships through to research professorships, for the full range of clinicians working across England, providing the skilled research workforce in universities and NHS trusts to lead research and help train future generations of clinicians. The NIHR invests over £220 million each year in research training programmes.