Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of awarding NHS junior doctors a higher pay rise than set out in the agreed 2019 four-year pay settlement in the context of the rising cost of living.

Junior doctors have a pre-existing multi-year pay and contract reform deal agreed with the trade union. As well as setting annual pay increases, the deal made improvements to terms and conditions and further strengthened safety and rest limits. Alongside investment in pay, the Government has also invested £90 million to create a new higher pay point for the most experienced junior doctors, increase allowances for those working the most frequently at weekends, enhance eligibility for night shift pay and create a £1,000 a year allowance for junior doctors working less than full time to help with the cost of training. The multi-year deal ends in 2023 and the Government will consider next year’s pay increase with evidence on recruitment and retention.