Education to receive extra £200m in 2020/21

Following chancellor Sajid Javid’s spending round announcement yesterday, when he announced HEE funding would grow by 3.4% in 2020/21, the education and training body said £150m would be allocated to increasing CPD and workforce development. The funding will provide a £1,000 central training budget over three years for each nurse, midwife and allied health professional.

HEE added training and development would be supported with additional funding from NHS England and NHS Improvement.

The remaining £50m will be used to support the NHS people plan priorities and fund ‘existing and agreed forthcoming pressures on the HEE baseline’.

Ian Cumming (pictured), HEE’s chief executive, said: ‘The settlement for 2020/21 allows HEE to continue investing in the development of the staff we know the NHS and patients need and the focus on professional development provides a major opportunity to improve multidisciplinary approaches to providing care as well as cross team working for the best possible patient benefit.’

NHS Employers chief executive Daniel Mortimer welcomed the news. But he said: ‘It must be the start of an ongoing commitment to invest in the NHS workforce, most particularly in ensuring long- term recruitment of staff, particularly in areas of greatest shortage, such as mental health and learning disability nursing. 

‘Following major reductions in central CPD funding in the last five years, employers have been less able to support training and development opportunities financially in the workforce, despite a recognition and understanding of its importance, not only in terms of patient safety, but also to aid the retention of our talented workforce,’ he added.

Professor Cumming acknowledged the settlement was for one year only. But he added: ‘It means that HEE is in a strong position to do what is needed next year to deliver what we know the system and patients need in the years that follow. We expect that in spring 2020 we will once again come together across HEE, NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Department of Health and Social Care to look at what funding HEE and the wider system requires over future years to deliver our shared ambitions for workforce, education and training.’