Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

NHS Workforce Planning

Tuesday 19 April 2022 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The NHS has well-established processes to ensure it has the right staff with the right skills.
  • The Government values overseas workers in the NHS and focuses on increasing training numbers, retention efforts, and welcoming international staff.
  • The Minister acknowledges challenges in remote and rural communities and HEE work will look at different geographies, including those facing specific challenges.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Kirsty Blackman SNP Aberdeen North
NHS
Context

MP inquired about the progress of short-term and long-term NHS workforce planning.

Question

What recent progress his Department has made on NHS (a) short-term and (b) long-term workforce planning. We have well-established processes to ensure that the health service has the right number of staff with the right skills, alongside investment in workforce expansion including delivering 50,000 more nurses over this Parliament.

Answer from Edward Argar

The NHS has well-established processes to ensure it has the right staff with the right skills. The government invests in workforce expansion, including delivering 50,000 more nurses over this Parliament. Health Education England is due to report on key drivers of workforce supply and demand this spring. NHS England will develop a long-term workforce framework.

Partly answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q2 Kirsty Blackman SNP Aberdeen North
Immigration NHS
Context

MP questioned the impact of government rhetoric and actions regarding immigration on NHS workforce.

Question

The Government's anti-immigration rhetoric discourages people from coming to work in our NHS, impacting staff retention. The Health and Social Care Committee recommended a national policy framework on migration for workforce planning support. When will this recommendation be implemented?

Answer from Edward Argar

The Government values overseas workers in our NHS. There are three strands to their approach: increasing training numbers, retention efforts, and welcoming international staff. The number of people coming from outside the EU into the NHS workforce has increased.

Partly answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q3 Anne Marie Morris Con
Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

MP highlighted challenges for rural areas in workforce development and asked about the implementation of recommendations.

Question

The Minister will be aware that I have highlighted the challenge for rural areas in developing a workforce plan. What steps has he taken to implement any of those recommendations to improve conditions in rural areas?

Answer from Edward Argar

The Minister acknowledges challenges in remote and rural communities. HEE work and the subsequent workforce framework will look at different geographies, including those facing specific challenges.

Partly answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q4 Martyn Day SNP
NHS Scotland
Context

MP compared UK and Scottish Government approaches to NHS funding, inquiring about the impact of further privatisation.

Question

The Scottish Government have bought Carrick Glen private healthcare hospital to become part of the national network. In contrast, the UK Government has further privatised NHS England. What assessment has been made of the impact on the workforce?

Answer from Edward Argar

The UK Government invests in the NHS workforce and works closely with the independent sector. We are not going down a path of further privatisation.

How: Change Of Subject

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)