Recommendation 6

NHSE&I has yet to publish its long-awaited ‘people plan’ and there is a continued lack of long-term investment in people and training, which is not helped by the lack of alignment across the Department, NHSE&I and Health Education England. The people plan, intended to be published in 2019 to support the NHS Long Term Plan has been repeatedly delayed, and only an interim, non-costed plan has been published. The delayed people plan has now been put on hold again by the COVID-19 crisis. We remain concerned by the 40,000 nursing vacancies and 9,000 vacancies for medical staff in the NHS. Local NHS bodies have also reported that staffing shortages are one of the biggest risks to delivering the long-term plan. NHSE&I tells us that responsibilities and funding for workforce planning and training are spread across several bodies including the Department, NHSE&I, Health Education England and universities. Although it states that these bodies now have an “aligned view as to what now is needed on workforce support and growth”, we are not convinced that the current system will work effectively without a clear line of accountability. Recommendation: The Department should review the effectiveness of having a separate body overseeing the planning and supply of the NHS’s future workforce. NHSE&I should work with Health Education England to evaluate how workforce planning can be improved including the integration of training and education funding models with service planning and delivery in order to overcome persistent challenges. The Department, NHSE&I and Health Education England should write to the Committee by December 2020 to update us on progress in this regard.