Secretary of State’s duty to report on workforce systems
Section 1 of the NHS Act 2006 gives the Secretary of State a duty to promote a comprehensive health service in England. Section 1F of the NHS Act 2006 gives the Secretary of State a further duty to secure an effective system for the planning and delivery of education and training to individuals who are employed or are considering becoming employed as healthcare workers. This duty is delegated to Health Education England (HEE) through Section 97(1) of the Care Act 2014. However, other bodies (currently including the NHS Commissioning Board, the TDA and individual employers, and, following changes made by the Act, the newly merged NHS England and integrated care boards) also have responsibilities for workforce planning and supply.
	However, no one document exists or captures how the workforce planning and supply system operates at national, regional and local level. The Act places a duty on the Secretary of State to publish, at least once every five years, a report describing the system in place for assessing and meeting the workforce needs of the health service in England. It will also place a duty on HEE and NHS England to assist in the preparation of the report, if asked to do so by the Secretary of State.
	The scope of the report will include workforce planning and supply for healthcare workers, including those working in the NHS, public health, regulated healthcare professions working in social care (e.g. nurses and occupational therapists).
	The report will provide clarity and transparency as to how the workforce planning and supply system operates, by describing the workforce planning and supply roles of relevant national bodies – including DHSC, HEE and NHS England, integrated care boards and individual employers - and how they work together in practice at national, regional and local levels. It will not set out workforce targets or give any bodies new functions.
	The report will be published at a minimum of every five years but can be reviewed by the Secretary of State before then, if the Secretary of State considers appropriate.