Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a national pay-scale for apprentices across the NHS.
The Agenda for Change multi-year pay and contract reform deal 2018/19 to 2020/21 included a commitment for the NHS Staff Council to negotiate a new provision on pay for apprentices within the National Health Service terms and conditions of service.
Employers and trade unions were unable to reach a consensus on pay following lengthy negotiations but did agree on other areas including on job descriptions and person specifications for apprentices and on treatment of internal applicants to apprenticeship roles.