Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what oversight exists to (a) monitor and (b) audit legal expenditure by NHS Trusts in Employment Tribunal cases.

Neither the Department nor NHS England monitor or audit legal expenditure by National Health Service trusts in Employment tribunal cases. NHS trusts are responsible for overseeing their own Employment Tribunal cases, which would include monitoring and auditing the legal expenditure. Legal expenditure in Employment Tribunal cases may however be subject to financial audit scrutiny by the NHS trusts’ external auditors, subject to local audit materiality.