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 implications for his policies of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill and the current practice of NHS staff leaving a picket line voluntarily to support a clinical emergency; and if he will make a statement.

Where strikes have happened, in most cases union representatives have agreed derogations from industrial action where care is urgent or time critical. This means, that we can be confident that category 1 ambulance calls will be responded to. The Government remains concerned, however, that in some instances these voluntary agreements have not been agreed until the last minute, have not gone far enough, or there has been confusion about what has been agreed. In a small number of cases staff have taken strike action even if they work in an area that is meant to be derogated.

The Government is bringing forward the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill. In putting minimum service levels in legislation, the public will have the much-needed assurance that urgent and time critical care will always continue through strike action, and employers will be better able to plan for strike action.