Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department will take to ensure that there are adequate numbers of NHS staff in (a) Stockport and (b) Greater Manchester.

Local National Health Service trusts are responsible for managing staffing levels and recruiting the appropriate number of health professionals required.

As of February 2022, there were 5,029 full time equivalent (FTE) staff working at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, an increase of 4.1% from February 2021. This includes a 5.8% increase in the number of FTE doctors and a 9% increase in the number of nurses. As of February 2022, there were 186,214 staff working in NHS trusts in the North West, an increase 2.3% from February 2021. This includes a 3.2% increase in the number of FTE doctors and a 4.9% increase in the number of nurses.

We have funded an additional 1,500 undergraduate medical school places for domestic students in England to provide a 25% increase over three years. We are also on schedule to meet the target of employing 50,000 more nurses in the NHS by March 2024.