§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of(a) the number of extra midwives which will be required in the NHS in the next 10 years and (b) the adequacy of the number of training places available to meet that demand. [166235]
§ Mr. HuttonWe are committed to increasing the number of midwives working in the national health service. Speaking at the Royal College of Midwives in 2001, my right hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) said that there would be an extra 2,000 midwives working in the NHS within the next five years. As at September 2003, there were 1,369 more midwives employed in the NHS than in 2000.
It is for the NHS to determine locally the number and type of training places it purchases for students to train as midwives. Increased investment has seen a rise of 28 per cent. between 1996–97 and 2002–03 in the number of students starting midwifery training and further growth is expected this year to support further growth in midwifery numbers.