Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the (a) increased rate of inflation and (b) consequential tax implications for GP pensions.

National Health Service pensions are automatically increased in value at the end of each scheme year. The generosity of the NHS Pension Scheme and well-remunerated careers mean that some senior doctors exceed the allowances for tax-free pension saving. A higher rate of revaluation will increase the size of pensions and may therefore increase annual allowance pension tax liability in a situation where inflation is increasing. However, when inflation reduces in the subsequent tax year, this may increase the scope for more pension growth before exceeding the annual allowance in that year. The vast majority of NHS staff build their pension tax-free. We have regular discussions with HM Treasury on a range of issues related to the delivery of NHS services.