Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan will include specific plans to increase the number of (a) rheumatology consultants (b) rheumatology clinical nurse specialists.

We have commissioned NHS England to develop a long term workforce plan for the next 15 years. The plan is for the whole of the National Health Service workforce and will not get into detail for particular specialisations.