Summary: Higher Education Commission Evidence Session One: National Strategy and System Leadership 

On 28 January the Higher Education Commission held the first evidence session of its inquiry into healthcare workforce development, examining how the higher education sector can support the recruitment and retention of NHS clinical staff. Held at the House of Lords under Chatham House rules, the session focused on national strategy and system leadership, exploring what frameworks, governance structures and coordination mechanisms are needed to translate national workforce plans into delivery. 

Chaired by Lord Philip Norton, Inquiry Co-Chair, the session opened with remarks from Professor Kathryn Mitchell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Derby and Inquiry Co-Chair; Kevin McKenna MP, Inquiry Co-Chair and Labour MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey; and Jonathan Brash MP, Labour MP for Hartlepool. Rhiannon Tuckett-Jones of Policy Connect provided an update on the inquiry’s progress. 

The structured discussion panel comprised: 

• Peter Kunzmann, Head of Policy, Royal College of Anaesthetists 
• Ed Hughes, Chief Executive, Council of Deans for 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 

This was followed by an open thematic discussion with the wider audience of healthcare education stakeholders. 

There was broad consensus that although commitment to workforce expansion is strong across the sector, systemic barriers are preventing this from translating into confident, sustainable delivery. Participants described a system characterised by fragmentation, short-termism and contradictory policy signals, with universities and colleges working around barriers rather than being enabled to expand provision. 

Key themes raised included: 

• The need for system-wide coordination with senior leadership authority, alongside long-term strategic stability to replace policy churn. 
• Gaps in transparent, data-driven workforce modelling and evidence-based planning. 
• Barriers to expanding placement capacity, including tariff structures focused on NHS settings and insufficient support for placements in primary care, community and private sector settings. 
• The case for funding and tariff reform to reflect the true cost of healthcare education. 
• The importance of place-based approaches operating within coherent national frameworks, alongside stronger recognition of small and vulnerable professions. 
• Shortages of practice educators and clinical academics, and the financial hardship experienced by many healthcare students. 
• The case for widening participation from an earlier age, and for genuine parity between education and service delivery within healthcare organisations. 

Participants agreed that solutions and innovations already exist within the system but remain localised rather than mainstreamed, and that a joined-up, long-term approach is needed to bring these from the periphery to the centre. 

For further information, please contact Rhiannon Tuckett-Jones (rhiannon.tuckett-jones@policyconnect.org.uk) 

This inquiry is generously sponsored by ACCA, iheed, Cambridge Education Group and the University of Derby.