Select committee: Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 7
Third Report - Workforce: recruitment, training and retention in health and social care
Published 25 Jul 2022
Paragraph 56
Addressed to Department of Health and Social Care
Health and Social Care Committee Workforce: recruitment, training and retention in health and social care All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Maternity services in England and Wales are under unsustainable pressure. We welcome the commitments that the Government has made in response to the Ockenden report, whilst recognising that these changes will come too late for some mothers and babies. The Government must intervene with immediate action on recruitment and retention to relive pressure from the system and ensure positive birthing experiences for everyone, regardless of their racial or socioeconomic background.
From: Health and Social Care Committee, Third Report - Workforce: recruitment, training and retention in health and social care (HC 115), paragraph 56, 25 July 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 21 April 2023 (deadline 25 September 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response sets out partial and varied positions on the Committee's 73 recommendations, with some agreed, some agreed in principle, and others not agreed, and points to the forthcoming Long Term Workforce Plan.
- On workforce planning (Recommendations 1 and 2) it states "We agree this recommendation" and says the Long Term Workforce Plan will include independently verified projections for 5, 10 and 15 years, which it has "committed to publishing" "shortly".
- On a new nursing bursary scheme (Recommendation 3) it says "We do not agree with this recommendation", citing the training grants already available to nursing, midwifery and allied health students.
- On maternity funding and workforce plans (Recommendations 9 and 10) it states "We disagree with these recommendations", but says it "will consider" the forthcoming Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists report and "will keep further funding under review".
- On social care funding it states "We do not accept" the recommendation of an extra £7 billion a year by 2023-24, pointing to up to £2.8 billion in 2023-24 and up to £4.7bn in 2024-25.