Written question WQ98663

The Welsh Government recognises the important role occupational therapists play within primary and community care, supporting prevention, rehabilitation and independent living.

Investment in the occupational therapy workforce is primarily delivered through our national education and training commissioning arrangements. Each year, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) provide advice to Welsh Ministers on the number of training places required across all professions, including occupational therapy, based on service need and workforce plans submitted by NHS organisations. This ensures commissioning decisions align with our ambition to strengthen primary and community care services, with an increasing focus on prevention, early intervention and care delivered closer to home.

These arrangements also underpin how we build and maintain an accurate picture of the occupational therapy workforce. Workforce plans submitted by NHS organisations, alongside wider service and population needs, inform HEIW’s advice and ensure that commissioning decisions are evidence-based and responsive to demand across primary and community services.

In recent years, we have supported growth in the occupational therapy workforce through sustained commissioning of training places. For 2026–27, there has been a reduction in commissioned training numbers. This reflects a planned, one‑year stabilising position following earlier expansion and is based on careful assessment of workforce demand, training capacity and placement availability. It is important that we balance supply with the system’s ability to train and employ graduates effectively.

As with all areas of public service, these decisions are taken within the context of the overall resources available, and we must ensure that investment in education and training is targeted where it will have the greatest impact in supporting service delivery.

Through this approach, we continue to support a sustainable pipeline of occupational therapists, with commissioning decisions reflecting the increasing need for rehabilitation, reablement and early intervention services delivered closer to home.

We will continue to keep both the workforce evidence base and commissioning levels under regular review, working with HEIW, NHS Wales and partners to ensure the occupational therapy workforce is appropriately sized and well positioned to support primary care and community services. We have been clear that NHS Wales needs a long-term workforce strategy, and we will publish this in the autumn.