Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from NHS trusts on workforce morale.

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not received any representations from National Health Service trusts on workforce morale. Staff morale, as measured by staff engagement scores in the NHS Staff Survey, is at its highest level since first recorded in 2012.

However, the Government is not complacent and recognises the variation in staff morale across different types of NHS organisations and staff groups. That is why we are proposing to do more to improve working conditions for NHS staff, including helping trusts become “employers of choice” by offering more flexible working, improving staff health and wellbeing, tackling bullying and violence against NHS staff. This will complement the work ongoing across the NHS, championed by NHS England, to ensure staff are better supported.