Health Education and Training Evidence Session: National Strategy and System Leadership 

This is the first evidence session, part of the Higher Education Commission’s and All-Party Parliamentary Group for Health’s (APHG) inquiry into health and education training.

The NHS faces an unprecedented workforce crisis. England has just 3.2 doctors per 1,000 people – well below the EU OECD average of 3.9 – and would require an additional 40,000 doctors to close this gap. Retention rates among early- and mid-career nurses, midwives, and Allied Health Professionals remain worryingly low, with many citing poor pay, challenging conditions, and limited career progression as reasons for leaving the profession.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (June 2023) set ambitious targets: a 92% increase in adult nursing training places and a 50% increase in GP training by 2031/32. The NHS 10-Year Plan (July 2025) built on this, committing to a curriculum overhaul within three years, 2,000 new nursing apprenticeships in high-need areas, 1,000 additional speciality training posts, and reducing international recruitment to below 10% by 2035. Yet, delivering these goals requires transformative coordination across a fragmented system. Universities face acute financial pressures, with 43% of institutions expecting deficits. Further education colleges contend with chronic underfunding and a teacher recruitment crisis.

This session will examine what national frameworks, governance structures, and coordination mechanisms are needed to translate workforce ambition into delivery, exploring how existing resources can be optimised, and system-wide accountability strengthened.

Themes for discussion:

• Strategic workforce planning and demand forecasting
• System coordination and accountability
• Resource efficiency and funding optimisation
• Clinical placement capacity, quality, and funding
• Quality assurance and standards

This session is chaired by Inquiry Co-Chair Lord Philip Norton of Louth.

Opening remarks from:

• Profession Kathryn Mitchell, Vice-Chancellor, University of Derby, Inquiry Co-Chair
• Kevin McKenna MP, Inquiry Co-Chair
• Jonathan Brash MP, Labour MP for Hartlepool
• Rhiannon Tuckett-Jones, Inquiry Lead, Policy Connect

Structured discussion with:

• Peter Kunzmann, Head of Policy, Royal College of Anaesthetists
• Ed Huges, Chief Executive, Council of Deans of Health
• Christine Elliott, Chair, Health and Care Professions Council
• Professor Jacqueline Kelly, Pro Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University
• Joe Fitzsimmons, Regional Lead Policy and Insights, ACCA

The inquiry is kindly sponsored by the University of Derby, ACCA, and iheed.

For more information about the inquiry or this session, please contact Rhiannon.Tuckett-Jones@policyconnect.org.uk