Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of junior doctors who will be employed by the NHS in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

National Health Service organisations are best placed to decide how many staff they employ tailoring services to meet the needs of their patients and local communities, to deliver safe care.

The Department has set up Health Education England (HEE) to deliver a better health and healthcare workforce for England. They are responsible for ensuring a secure workforce supply that reflects the needs of local service users, providers and commissioners of healthcare.

HEE’s Workforce Plan for England 2016-17 will be published in the next few months and will include planned junior doctors training posts.