Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of employment prospects of newly qualified Physician Associates; and what steps she is taking to ensure that graduates are able to secure appropriate employment following completion of their training.

Further to the answer of 8 June in response to Question 6637, we stress again that physician associates have important roles to play in our health service, and Professor Leng's review represented a welcome opportunity, in her own words, to reset the debate around those roles and enable all staff groups to work collaboratively in future. However, individual decisions on employment remain a matter for local National Health Service employers, based on their assessment of needs in their area.