Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to help ensure that staff on outsourced contracts from the NHS receive a cost of living pay increase.

Independent organisations of course remain free to develop and adopt the terms and conditions of employment, including pay, that best help them attract and keep the staff they need. It is open to National Health Service organisations to agree pay rates with the providers of their outsourced services. Commissioning arrangements for non NHS providers are a matter for integrated care board (ICB) to consider on a case by case basis. ICBs will make local decisions in response to the individual needs of providers.