Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the number of extra university places required to train nursing staff to meet the NICE safe staffing ratio of one nurse to eight patients.

Health Education England (HEE) is currently working with local organisations and key external stakeholders to develop the National Workforce Plan for England covering the period 2016-17. This will be published in December 2015. The plan takes account of what local providers require by way of future nurse staffing levels.

HEE has invested £1.5 million in funding approximately 90 ‘Return to Practice’ courses that has already yielded an additional 779 trainees available for employment now, at a cost of £2,000 compared to the £51,000 it takes to train a newly qualified nurse.