Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason NHS employees in band 4 are only eligible for pay progression after three years, rather than two years as in other bands.

As part of the 2018 deal, all pay bands underwent a significant amount of structural reform. The reform included reducing the length of time it takes to reach the top of most pay bands, improving pay progression, and removing all overlap between pay bands. As such, the time taken to progress to the top of Band 4 has been reduced from six years to three years. The time taken to progress varies by band. This is to reflect the time needed to develop the knowledge and skills to perform at the top of the relevant band.