Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support NHS workers in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England with the rising cost of living.

The Government committed to providing a pay increase this year for National Health Service workers in England, in addition to the 3% last year when pay was frozen in the public sector. The Government is looking to the independent Pay Review Bodies (PRBs) for a recommendation for the NHS. The PRBs consider a number of factors when formulating these recommendations, including the cost of living and inflation, recruitment and retention, affordability and value for the taxpayer. The Government will consider the recommendations before responding.

Approximately eight million households in the United Kingdom, including in Coventry and the West Midlands, will receive at least £1,200 this year, including a new one-off £650 cost of living payment. Universal support also increases to £400 as the October discount on energy bills increases and the requirement to repay it is removed. This provides total support for the cost of living to £37 billion this year.