Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ask the Independent NHS Pay Review Body to make an assessment of (a) the pay received by nurses and other grades on the Agenda for Change pay scales in comparison with the equivalent rates of pay in 2010 and (b) the extent to which that comparison reflects the increases in pay received in the rest of the labour market over that period.

Since 2010, annual pay awards have increased basic pay for full-time nurses and health visitors by approximately 23% on average. The Government has accepted the latest recommendations of the independent Pay Review Bodies for National Health Service staff in full and committed to a pay increase next year, asking for recommendations for those staff in scope. In formulating its recommendations, the Pay Review Bodies consider evidence from a range of stakeholders, including NHS system partners and trade unions and factors such as recruitment, retention, morale, motivation, affordability and the economic context, including inflation and the labour market.