Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of physician associates on the training of junior doctors.

Physician associates (PAs) play an invaluable role in complementing and supporting doctors to provide safe, high-quality care to patients across the National Health Service as part of a multi-disciplinary team. PAs are central to the Government's policy to develop a stronger and more effective NHS workforce to meet future need.

As the General Medical Council will regulate both medical practitioners and PAs, it will have oversight of the education and training arrangements for both professions and will be able to monitor any impact on the training of junior doctors.