Ministers pressed for promised ‘independent workforce plan’

Government must deliver on its manifesto commitment to “regular, independent workforce planning” for health and social care, royal colleges and others warned Wes Streeting today.

Some 74 health and care organisations today wrote to the health and social care secretary urging him to engage with them on his 10-year NHS workforce plan.

It is due to be published this year but government and NHS England are yet to begin detailed discussions with the sector. 

The government’s 10-Year Health Plan says there will be fewer staff than proposed in the 2023 long-term workforce plan. It says there will need to be more flexible working and changes to staff roles, to increase productivity – moves likely to be unpopular with some professionals.

The wide-ranging groups that have written the letter – which include most royal colleges – warned a “robust stakeholder engagement process” was crucial if the plan is to be “thorough [and] credible”, and to get support from the sector. There should be an accompanying implementation plan, they say.

“We remain supportive of a regularly refreshed, credible national workforce plan for the NHS with independently verified modelling,” the letter adds. “We are clear that funding will need to be attached to any priorities that the plan sets.”

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HSJ, 3 September 2025