Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2025 to Question 27118 on NHS England: Pay, what the difference is between (a) operational max and (b) max exception zones in NHS Executive Senior Manager pay bands.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The operational maximum is the maximum salary rate NHS England can appoint without seeking permission from the Department. Salaries above the operational maximum require as a minimum approval from the Department’s Renumeration Committee, and depending on the amount, may also require approval from ministers and HM Treasury. Any salary above £150,000 requires approval from the Department’s ministers.
The exception zone max is the highest figure that the Department has been delegated from HM Treasury, and appointing a salary above the exception zone requires HM Treasury’s approval. It is also important to note that there are different operational and exception zone maximums depending on the grade of the NHS Executive Senior Manager role being appointed.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when NHS East of England plans to publish an annual report for 2024-25.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service East of England is a regional team within NHS England, and as such they do not publish an annual report. The NHS England’s annual report and accounts includes the regional teams, other NHS England operations, and group bodies.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any directors of the Mid and South Essex Hospitals NHS Trust were paid any form of bonuses in financial years (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on the renumeration, including bonuses, of senior staff is published by hospital trusts as part of their annual report and accounts. It is for the local Remuneration Committee of each National Health Service trust to approve bonuses for directors. The information for the Mid and South Essex Hospitals Trust is available at the following link:
https://www.mse.nhs.uk/trust-publications-and-reports?smbfolder=150
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the operating deficit for the Mid and South Essex Hospitals NHS Trust for financial years (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Trusts report their deficit position in their board reports, which are published on their websites. In 2023/24, the Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust reported an operating deficit of £29.7 million, resulting in the organisation being placed into the National Recovery Support Programme to receive support for improving its financial position.
The 2024/25 financial plan for the foundation trust was a deficit of £84.6 million, for which the organisation has received deficit support funding from NHS England. Following receipt of this funding, the foundation trust is forecast to breakeven, although this requires the trust to deliver improved positions in the final months of the year, as there is a year-to-date deficit at month seven of £23.1 million, according to their latest board report.
NHS England recently published 2025/6 Planning Guidance to support system financial planning for 2025/26. Finalised system financial plans for 2025/26 are currently being developed ahead of the start of the financial year, and so are not yet available.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full-time equivalent staff are employed by the NHS East of England headquarters.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS England East of England regional whole time equivalent for this establishment is 637. This is the number of posts, rather than the number of staff currently employed. The data for the total number of full-time equivalent staff employed is unvalidated and is subject to change, so it is not routinely published.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the salary band is of the Chief Operating Officer of the NHS East of England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The salary bands for the Regional Director, Finance Director, Strategy Director, and Chief Operating Officer for NHS East of England are as follows:
These bandings are the same across all of NHS England for these roles.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the salary band is of the Regional Director of Strategy and Integration for the NHS East of England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The salary bands for the Regional Director, Finance Director, Strategy Director, and Chief Operating Officer for NHS East of England are as follows:
These bandings are the same across all of NHS England for these roles.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the salary band is for the Finance Director of the NHS East of England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The salary bands for the Regional Director, Finance Director, Strategy Director, and Chief Operating Officer for NHS East of England are as follows:
These bandings are the same across all of NHS England for these roles.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the salary band is for the Regional Director of the NHS East of England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The salary bands for the Regional Director, Finance Director, Strategy Director, and Chief Operating Officer for NHS East of England are as follows:
These bandings are the same across all of NHS England for these roles.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many employees of NHS East of England are in salary bands above (a) £250,000, (b) £200,000, (c) £150,000 and (d) £100,000.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes the performance bonus information for its national directors in their annual accounts. No national directors were paid a bonus in 2023/24, and bonuses will not be paid for 2024/25. NHS England’s latest annual report and accounts has been published and is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-england-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024
The following table shows the latest published Executive Senior Manager (ESM) pay framework from 2021, which applies to the East of England region:
Role grade | Pay bands | ||
Minimum | Operational max | Max exception zone | |
ESM 1 | £90,900 | £113,625 | £131,300 |
ESM 2 | £131,301 | £146,450 | £161,600 |
ESM 3 | £161,601 | £176,750 | £191,900 |
ESM 4 | £191,901 | £207,050 | £222,200 |
Although not all posts are currently filled, the number of permanent posts by grade in the region are as follows:
NHS England’s regional communications functions are currently centrally employed. This resource is then provided to regions to support their work. There are eight posts, specifically seven staff and one vacancy, providing communications, media, and engagement support to the National Health Service in the East of England in meeting its statutory and constitutional responsibilities on engaging with the public and helping patients find the right services.