It's all just the sort of short-term planning done by politicians who can see only as far as the next election. In the NHS there is a problem with doctors, at least in some places, because there are so many young women in the profession now (they started taking in medical students purely on their exam results some time ago and we all know which sex gets better results). In the course of nature, many of these women take time off to have children and then want to work part-time and their male colleagues, who are not stupid, often prefer to work part-time as well. Added to this are the rules on working hours which we all knew about 20 years ago were going to come into force so that there would be no way of getting suckers like we were when young doctors, to work 90 hours a week or more. It would have been logical to increase the number of medical school places in the 90s, but oh no! Planning for schools when there is a population bulge gives the planners only 5 years or so to increase provision, but they don't seem to try. I despair 