Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal College of Nursing on nurses industrial action.

My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, and I, met representatives from the Royal College of Nursing several times towards the end of 2022.

Most recently, the Secretary of State wrote to representatives of health unions early in January to invite them to meet to discuss the evidence that the Government will be submitting to the Pay Review Bodies for the 2023-24 pay round. RCN representatives were present at meetings on 9 January and 12 January.

The Government is focused on the 2023-24 pay review process but recognises that despite over one million National Health Service workers receiving a pay rise of at least £1,400 this financial year, global economic headwinds are putting household budgets under pressure, and we are happy to listen to concerns from health unions about this.