Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the differences between NHS and Civil Service redundancy provisions for staff who have taken partial retirement; and whether his Department has considered aligning NHS provisions with the Civil Service Compensation Scheme where partial retirement does not affect redundancy entitlements.

This specific assessment has not been made. Contractual redundancy provisions for staff covered by the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service handbook, also referred to as Agenda for Change, in England were agreed and ratified in partnership by the NHS Staff Council, the collective bargaining structure made up of trade union and employer representatives. Any future changes to the handbook, including this section, would require the Department to issue a mandate to allow negotiations to be undertaken by the NHS Staff Council.