To ask the Minister of Health (i) whether his Department has undertaken a review of current training capacity within Northern Ireland’s universities for nursing and allied health professions; and (ii) whether this aligns with projected local workforce demands.

Commissioning of both pre-registration and post-registration training for nursing, midwifery and allied health professions is a collaborative process between my Department, higher education providers and HSC Trusts. Commissioning plans are informed by HSC Trusts’ training and workforce planning needs analysis that is undertaken on an annual basis.

My Department has not undertaken a review of current training capacity within the universities for nursing and allied health professions.

Under the current contract for the commissioning of pre-registration nursing and allied health professions training programmes, assessment of training capacity is a matter for the universities.

For post-registration arrangements, the Department works with universities via the established DoH Nursing and Midwifery and Allied Health Professions post-registration education commissioning process to ensure education commissioning plans are drawn up which reflect service needs in line with strategic priorities.

The Department maintains a close working relationship with the universities and provides as much foresight as possible on future commissioning intentions, subject to affordability considerations.