Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of senior NHS leadership roles are held by Allied Health Professionals; and what steps he is taking to increase that proportion.

The Department and NHS England do not currently hold a comprehensive central dataset on the proportion of all senior NHS Board-level roles held by Allied Health Professionals (AHPs).

NHS England is actively seeking to increase representation from a broader range of professional backgrounds, including AHPs, across senior leadership pipelines. This includes aspiring Chair, aspiring Chief Executive, and aspiring Executive Director programmes. It also includes targeted development offers such as the Nye Bevan exceptional cohort for primary care, which is designed to support a broad primary care leadership pipeline, including AHPs and other primary care professional groups.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets the ambition for the National Health Service to have world-class leadership and management. The establishment of a new NHS College of Leadership and Management will provide the national infrastructure to support this and will help widen access to leadership development opportunities for a broader range of professional backgrounds, including AHPs.