Recommendation 21

HM Government Accepted

Response Recommendations 1 and 2 have been grouped together for an overarching response to the Committee. We agree this recommendation. We agree with the need for robust, long term, workforce planning and have commissioned two large pieces of work to support this ambition: the Health Education England (HEE) led long term strategic framework (Framework 15) for workforce and the NHS England Long Term Workforce Plan. The Long Term Workforce Plan will include independently- verified projections for the number of doctors, nurses and other professionals that will be needed in 5, 10 and 15 years’ time, taking full account of improvements in retention and productivity. We have committed to publishing the Long Term Workforce Plan shortly. HEE’s work in developing Framework 15 has already supported the development of the Long Term Workforce Plan. Framework 15 is designed to help ensure the workforce we invest in today is fit for the future and makes the most of every pound spent. This will be achieved through setting out clarity of service ambitions and shared, explicit assumptions about the likely impact of key drivers of change on both demand and supply for the health and regulated social care workforce. The development of HEE’s Framework 15 commenced with a large-scale public ‘Call for Evidence’ to identify the factors that may have the greatest impact on demand for the health and regulated social care sector over the next fifteen years, and what they might mean for workforce supply. HEE and partners subsequently held over a thousand different conversations, including deliberative events creating the time and space for people to develop a vision for the future and identify the workforce required to deliver it. In addition, HEE held a series of round tables to explore in more depth particular issues or perspectives, including the views of users, patients and people who need care and support, the NHS youth forum, students, learners and trainees in health and social care, plus science, technology, and industry experts. An advice and challenge expert group of leading international thinkers from a range of sectors and disciplines was established to challenge and inform our thinking. The details and reports from this comprehensive process of engagement are supplemented by a review of around two thousand documents and data sources, to ensure that any propositions are supported by an evidence-base and reflect wider views. All of the conversations, deliberations and evidence that HEE have collated during this process have enriched the thinking and ensured the robustness of the Framework 15 report, and in turn fed into development of the Long Term Workforce Plan. Drawing upon an extensive engagement process including a call for evidence, extensive deliberative events, roundtables and literature reviews, Framework 15 will set out: • where we are now • what people tell us they want from the future of care, work, and education • the likely impact of key drivers of change on future demand and supply such as demographics and disease, science, and technology • the shape of the workforce required to deliver our ambitions for 2037 • some actions we can all take now to bring the desired future closer • the big strategic choices that need to be made nationally if we are to realise a fundamentally different future vision rather than just roll forward the past It is important to note that for workforce planning to be effective it must be integrated with activity and financial planning, all derived from the service delivery model. Framework 15 recognises these interdependencies and will inform the development of integrated workforce planning across the NHS, including within Integrated Care Systems (ICS) as Integrated Care Boards take on their role on workforce planning. The merger of NHSE and HEE will help ensure that workforce is placed at the forefront of the national NHS and social care agenda and that workforce planning is fully integrated with both the service and financial planning. It will simplify the national system for leading the NHS, including the work on planning for specific service pathways ensuring a common purpose and strategic direction. Building on this work NHSE has been commissioned to deliver a Long Term Workforce Plan, that will set out the actions needed to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of staff, with the rights skills to meet the vision described in HEE’s strategic framework. Getting this plan right is crucial in order for the NHS to deliver the government’s ambitions and commitments in the NHS Long Term Plan, to meet population health needs, and to transform and deliver high quality services fit for the future. We know that workload is one of the key factors driving burnout amongst staff, and so this workforce plan builds on the work of the NHS People Plan 2020 to 2021, to grow the workforce to meet rising demand for healthcare services, to implement new ways of working that make the best possible us