Health Committee launches inquiry into Education, training and workforce planning

The Committee will examine the Government’s plans regarding healthcare education, training and workforce planning. Consideration will be given to whether, and how, the proposals will ensure:

• the right numbers of appropriately qualified and trained healthcare staff (as well as clinical academics and researchers) at national, regional and local levels;
• that training curricula reflect the changing nature of healthcare delivery, including the medico-legal context;
• that all providers and commissioners of healthcare (both NHS and non-NHS) play an appropriate part in developing the future workforce;
• multi-professional and multidisciplinary leadership and accountability (encompassing the full range of healthcare professions, specialties and grades) at all levels;
• high and consistent standards of education and training;
• that the existing workforce can be developed and re-skilled for the future (through means including post-registration training and continuing professional development); and
• open and equitable access to all careers in healthcare for all sections of society (by means including flexible career paths).

With these key themes in mind, the Committee will look at:

• plans for the transition to the new system, up to April 2013;
• the future of postgraduate deaneries;
• the future of Health Innovation and Education Clusters;
• the role of the Secretary of State for Health in the new system;
• the proposed role, structure, governance and status of Health Education England (including how it will take on the roles of Medical Education England and the Professional Advisory Boards), and its relationship to professional regulators and to the other parts of the new NHS system architecture;
• the proposed role, structure, status, size and composition of local Provider Skills Networks / Local Education and Training Boards, including how plans for their authorisation by Health Education England will address issues relating to governance, accountability and potential or perceived conflicts of interest, and how the Boards will relate to Clinical Commissioning Groups and the Commissioning Board;
• how professional regulators, healthcare providers and commissioners, universities and other education providers, and researchers will all participate in the formulation and development of curricula;
• the implications of a more diverse provider market within the NHS;
• how the workforce requirements of providers of NHS and non-NHS healthcare will be balanced;
• the role and content of the proposed National Education and Training Outcomes Framework;
• the role of the Centre for Workforce Intelligence;
• the roles of Skills for Health and Skills for Care;
• the role of NHS Employers;
• how funding will be protected and distributed in the new system;
• how future healthcare workforce needs are being forecast;
• the impact of people retiring from, or otherwise leaving, healthcare professions;
• the place of overseas educated healthcare staff within the workforce;
• how the new system will relate to healthcare, education, training and workforce planning in the other countries of the UK; and
• how the public health workforce will be affected by the proposals.

The deadline for submitting written evidence is midday on Monday 19 December 2011.

Guidance on submitting written evidence

It assists the Committee if those submitting written evidence adhere to the following guidelines:

Each submission should:

• state clearly who the submission is from, ie whether from yourself in a personal capacity (Submission from, eg, Miss Dee Dee Lee) or sent on behalf of an organisation (eg Submission from Insert Name Ltd);
• be no more than 2,500 words in length;
• as far as possible comprise a single document attachment to the email;
• begin with a short summary in bullet point form;
• have numbered paragraphs; and
• be in Word format with as little use of colour or logos as possible (Reports are published in black and white).

The submission should be sent by e-mail to healthcommem@parliament.uk and have the ‘Name of the inquiry’ in the Subject line.

It would be helpful, for Data Protection purposes, if individuals submitting written evidence would send their contact details in a block of text laid out vertically (not horizontally). See example below:

Miss Dee Dee Lee
London House
London Avenue
London
SO00 0OO
Tel: 0000 000 0000 / Mob: 00000 000000
deedeelee1005 @ xxxxxxx.uk

You should also be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Though there is a strong preference for emailed submissions, those without access to a computer should send a hard copy to:

Committee Assistant
Health Committee
Committee Office
House of Commons
7 Millbank
London SW1P 3JA

Please also note that:

• Committees make public much of the evidence they receive during inquiries. If you do not wish your submission to be published, you must clearly say so. If you wish to include private or confidential information in your submission to the Committee, please contact the Clerk of the Committee to discuss this.
• Material already published elsewhere should not form the basis of a submission, but may be referred to within a proposed submission, in which case a hard copy of the published work should be included.
• Evidence submitted must be kept confidential until published by the Committee, unless publication by the person or organisation submitting it is specifically authorised.
• Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee. The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet (where it will be searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.
• Select Committees are unable to investigate individual cases.

For up-to-date information on progress of the inquiry visit: http://www.parliament.uk/healthcom