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 retain nursing staff.

NHS Improvement is leading a national retention programme across the National Health Service with an initial focus on improving retention of the nursing workforce, as well as the mental health clinical workforce.

To date 110 trusts have completed the NHS Improvement Direct Support Programme. NHS Improvement is currently working with an additional 35 trusts and will be expanding the programme across the NHS and providing support to all remaining NHS trusts in England.

The latest data from the University and College Admissions Service (February 2019) shows that there has been a 4.5% increase in applicants to nursing or midwifery courses at English universities when compared to this time last year (2018).

The NHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January 2019, sets out a vital strategic framework to ensure that over the next 10 years the NHS will have the staff it needs. This will ensure that nurses are able to offer the expert compassionate care that they are committed providing. To ensure a detailed plan that everyone in the NHS can get behind my Rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has asked Baroness Harding to lead an inclusive programme of work to set out a detailed workforce implementation plan to be published in due course.