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NHS: Staff

Asked by Jim ShannonDemocratic Unionist PartyDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 9 September 2025UIN 69802

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan will be published; and what support he plans to provide to the community pharmacy workforce to deliver this plan.

Answered by Karin Smyth

We will publish our 10 Year Workforce Plan by the end of this year. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will replace the Long Term Workforce Plan with a more sustainable model. Instead of asking ‘how many staff do we need to maintain our current care model over the next 10 years?’, it will ask ‘given our reform plan, what workforce do we need, what should they do, where should they be deployed and what skills should they have?’.

To support community pharmacy employers in developing their staff and delivering quality National Health Services, NHS England provides a number of funded national training opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This includes independent prescriber training, clinical examination skills, and training the next generation of education supervisors.

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