Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with (a) representatives of the National Health Systems of the UK and (b) the devolved Administrations on the development of a UK-wide professional accreditation scheme for clinical research practitioners to help increase the size of the clinical research workforce.

United Kingdom-wide accredited registration of clinical research practitioners (CRPs) was approved by the UK Professional Standards Authority in April 2020 as part of the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) Accredited Register for practitioners. The AHCS is a joint initiative of the UK health departments and professional bodies in healthcare science. The Standards of Proficiency for registration were developed following consultation with CRPs, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and senior leaders in nursing and management of clinical research operations. This is overseen by a board which includes representation from the devolved administrations to inform the strategic development of the profession. The NIHR and Academy of Medical Royal Colleges also offer UK-wide clinician researcher development qualifications.