Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Pursuant to the answer of 10 October, to Question 75034, on Trade Union: Equality, which civil service diversity networks in (a) his department and (b) NHS England are eligible for network time; and whether individual staff can claim both network time and trade union facility time.

Within the Department, paid facility time is provided for accredited trade union representatives to carry out duties in line with legislation and the trade union partnership framework, but not for participation in staff networks.

Chairs and committee members of the Department’s internal diversity networks are permitted to use up to 10% of their work time for network activity.

Whilst NHS England will be abolished and its functions integrated into the Department in the coming years, they are not a Civil Service employer. Therefore, NHS England has no Civil Service diversity networks.