Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of impact of a pay settlement on NHS staff retention.

The independent Pay Review Body process is the established mechanism for determining pay increases in the public sector, including for National Health Service staff. In forming its recommendations, the Pay Review Bodies consider a range of evidence, including the cost of living, inflation, recruitment, retention, morale and value for the taxpayer.

The 2020 NHS People Plan sets out actions to improve staff retention and all NHS trusts have specific retention programmes, including focusing on career development and training pathways to retain staff.