To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps the Government has taken to improve the skills of non-medically trained NHS employees. (226775)

The Department has worked with key stakeholders such as NHS Employers, Skills for Health and trade unions to develop education and career frameworks and to ensure effective use of the Joint Investment Fund that will provide up to £100 million per year of extra investment. This will be backed up by a doubling in investment in apprenticeships in the NHS.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps the Government has taken to improve the skills of NHS contracted staff. (226776)

The Government expect that all staff possess the level of skills required to deliver high quality health care, irrespective of whether they are employed directly by the NHS or they have been contracted to deliver that service. This applies to clinical and non-clinical staff alike.