Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to recruit and retain allied health professionals in Leeds Central and Headingley constituency.

The Government is committed to making the National Health Service the best place to work to support and retain our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are working closely with NHS England, employers, and educators to improve transition into the workforce.

Our upcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure that the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it, and will make sure staff are better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future.

Decisions on the employment of allied health professionals are a matter for individual National Health Service trusts which manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.