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 removing pensionable status from NHS responsibility payments when secondments are short term.

Additional responsibility payments such as those for clinical and medical directors are not covered by national contracts. A permanent pay increase for additional responsibilities would typically form part of a member’s pensionable pay and a temporary or short term increase would not. This is a matter for employers to consider when offering the payment. Pay arrangements in Scotland are a matter for the Scottish Government.

NHS Employers have published guidance on the local options available to employers in England, which can be put in place to support staff who are affected by pension tax.