Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the NHS staff and recruitment needs for (a) the North East, (b) County Durham and (c) Easington constituency.

No estimate has been made by the Department. Health Education England (HEE), an independent arms-length body, has been established to ensure the National Health Service has access to the right numbers of staff, at the right time and with the right skills. In doing so, HEE works with key external stakeholders to develop its National Workforce Plan for England which sets out the number of training places it will commission in the year ahead. The latest Workforce Plan for England, together with annexes detailing planned commissions by Local Education and Training Boards, is available at:

https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/planning-commissioning/workforce-planning/commissioning-investment-plan-england-2016-17

HEE is investing in the development of Local Workforce Action Boards (LWABs), which will provide strategic leadership in the development of local workforce strategies. HEE has been leading on the development of a LWAB for Cumbria and the North East. The LWAB will meet in October to agree priorities to support the local workforce.