Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to increase the budget available for the NHS pay settlement for 2023-24 in order to allow the NHS Pay Review Body to recommend a higher pay settlement for that year should it deem it appropriate.

The independent Pay Review Body (PRB) process is the established mechanism for determining pay uplifts in the public sector, including for staff working in the National Health Service. The Government has asked the independent PRBs for recommendations on pay for staff in scope for 2023/24. The PRBs are independent so we cannot pre-empt its recommendations, which they make based on all the evidence they receive, not just that submitted by the Government. Once the recommendations have been made, the Government will work closely with NHS England to determine the appropriate response.