Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide funding to help increase staffing levels at (a) James Paget University Hospital and (b) Northgate Hospital.

Decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver safe and effective care.

Funding provided to NHS trusts, including James Paget University Hospital and Northgate Hospital, is not ringfenced for specific items such as staffing levels. Hospitals receive funding allocations which they can use at their discretion, based on local priorities.

The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.