Public Health Specialist Workforce data collection
Data about the employment of public health specialists across local authorities, NHS organisations and academic institutions.
Contents
- Documentation
About this standard
- Publisher
- NHS England
- Reference code
- DCB3082
- Publication date
- 19 May 2026
- Status
- Active
Show definitions of statuses
Active. Active standards are stable, maintained and have been approved, assured or endorsed for use by qualified bodies.
Deprecated Deprecated standards are available for use and are maintained, but are being phased out, so new functionality will not be added.
Retired standards Retired standards are not being maintained or supported and should not be used.
- Standard type
- Collections
Show definitions of standard types
Collections. A Collection is a systematic gathering of a specified selection of data or information for a particular stated purpose from existing records held within health and care systems and electronic devices.
Extractions. An extraction is a type of collection that is pulled from an operational system by the data controller and transmitted to the receiver without additional processing or transcription by the sender.
Information standards. Information standards are agreed ways of doing something, written down as a set of precise criteria so they can be used as rules, guidelines, or definitions.
Technical Standards and specifications. Technical standards and specifications specify how to make information available technically including how the data is structured and transported.
- Collection level
Aggregate level
- Contact point
england.standards.assurance@nhs.net
Using this standard
- Applies to
- Public Health bodies with a headcount of 250
Topics and care settings
- Topic
- Workforce
Review Information
- Contributor
- UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
- Approval date
- 19 May 2026
- Technical Committee
Data Assurance Board (DAB)
Legal basis
- Legal authority
Section 259 of the Health and Social Care Act 2022
This standard is published under section 259 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
More information
The data collection tool has three core objectives:
- Monitor workforce trends: To support effective commissioning of public health specialists by tracking changes in the numbers of Directors of Public Health and Public Health Specialists, providing evidence for workforce planning and policy development.
- Inform training provision: To strengthen NHS England’s annual commissioning of specialist training places, ensuring that training supply aligns with current and future workforce demand.
- Enhance workforce intelligence: To improve the quality and consistency of data collection methods across the system, enabling more accurate workforce analysis and better-informed decision making.
Page last updated: 06 July 2026