Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to increase the number of healthcare professionals in rural areas.

The recent annual reports from the Chief Medical Officer for England set out the clear healthcare challenges patients face when living in remote, rural, and coastal areas.

It is clear that the National Health Service has faced chronic workforce shortages across all communities for years, and fixing this will take time. We have commissioned the 10-Year Health Plan, and a central and core part of this will be our workforce, and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.

Plans and policies will align with the strategic objectives set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, and will support its delivery.