Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve working conditions for doctors and other healthcare professionals.

The Government is committed to improving the working conditions for all National Health Service staff.

The 10-Year Health Plan committed to developing a new set of staff standards which would outline minimum standards for employment across a range of areas. On 6 July 2026, the Government published new Staff Standards which set minimum standards of employment for NHS staff in secondary care in England. The aim of the standards is to ensure staff experience is prioritised by employers and that a consistent level of experience is felt by all NHS staff.

The new resident doctor pay and training settlement in England (the Deal) was accepted by British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee members on behalf of resident doctors in England on 29 June 2026. Under the Deal, resident doctors will benefit from improved pay scales, better working conditions, enhanced career progression, and up to 4,500 new training places over the next three years.