Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the imbalance between London and the rest of England in the number of psychiatrists per head of population.

The allocation of training places/posts in psychiatry is determined centrally by Health Education England’s (HEE’s) workforce planning team. Training allocations are normally based on historical allocations, adjusted by weighted capitation and other factors such as deprivation and health inequalities.

As part of the workforce strategy ‘Facing the Facts, Shaping the Future’, HEE is looking at incentives to retain the workforce outside of London. For example, some areas offer Fellowships for Specialist and Associate Specialist doctors or Foundation doctors that include support for schooling and housing together with a package of education support and guaranteed employment for two to three years.

In the NHS Long Term Plan, HEE and its partners have committed to developing further incentives to ensure that the specialty choices of trainees meet the needs of patients by matching specialty and geographical needs, especially in primary care, community care and mental health services.