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 support the retention of social workers in the NHS.

The Government is committed to making the National Health Service the best place to work, to ensure the retention of our hardworking and dedicated staff, including social workers.

NHS England is leading the National Retention Programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.

In addition, the Department currently funds the Assessed Year in Employment to support the development and retention of newly qualified social workers employed within the statutory, private, voluntary, or independent sectors. This is a 12-month, employer led and employment-based programme of support and assessment for newly qualified social workers.