Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will assess the potential effects of the one per cent cap on pay rises on the recruitment and retention of nurses.

The independent NHS Pay Review Body in place for decades is led by experts who consider written and oral evidence about the recruitment, retention and motivation of staff employed under Agenda for Change, put to it by many stakeholders, not just the Government, for example, by National Health Service trades unions, NHS Employers, NHS Providers, NHS Improvement, Health Education England and NHS England.

Based on that evidence the NHS Pay Review Body prepares a report for the Government which makes recommendations on the level of pay award that will enable the NHS to continue to recruit, retain and motivate the staff it needs.

The NHS Pay Review Body recommended a 1% pay increase for all NHS staff for 2016/17 which the Government accepted in full.

The Government has now received the NHS Pay Review Body's report for 2017/18 and will carefully consider its recommendations before making any announcement on the annual pay award.