Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2020 to Question 117279, what steps his Department is taking in response to the covid-19 outbeak to recruit podiatrists into the NHS workforce.

The latest data from Universities and Colleges Admissions Service shows there were 275 acceptances on podiatry courses in England in the last year, an increase of 95 or 53% on 2019.

For podiatry and all professions with clinical placements funded through Health Education England (HEE), we are closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 and supporting local innovation to resolve challenges on the ground through close collaboration with Higher Education Institutions and placement providers. In addition, HEE are supporting placements innovation and local solutions, including supporting the expansion to support the increase in new students from September through a £15 million Clinical Education Placement Expansion funding.