Medical Workforce Standing Advisory Committee: Report

HL Deb 22 July 1998 vol 592 cc109-10WA

Lord Thomas of Macclesfield

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will announce the Government's response to the Third Report of the Medical Workforce Standing Advisory Committee. [HL3005]

Baroness Jay of Paddington

We are very pleased to tell the House that the Government accept the main recommendation of the Third Report of the Medical Workforce Standing Advisory Committee (MWSAC), that the annual intake of medical students in the United Kingdom should be increased by about 1,000.

The Government intend to phase the increase, so that approximately 5,450 students will be admitted by the year 2001 and approximately 6,000 will be admitted by 2005. This will allow the expansion in facilities dedicated to medical education to take place in a planned and orderly manner, and will allow the increase to be reviewed over time in the light of other work on medical productivity, the recruitment and retention of doctors, and more generally, the future role of doctors and other professionals.

In parallel with the phased increase, the Government will seek to engage the medical profession and others in discussions about the future shape of the healthcare workforce, including such issues as productivity and skill substitution, and the implications for education and training.

The full response to the MWSAC recommendations has been placed in the Library.