Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the safety implications for patients of more than 50 per cent of staff in mental health facilities commissioned by NHS England being agency staff.

We have made no such assessment. NHS Improvement introduced the agency rules in October 2015 and this has seen the overall expenditure on agency staff reduce by £1 billion. In implementing the rules, NHS Improvement has been very clear that the safety and welfare of patients is paramount.

As such there are no plans to introduce any restrictions on the number of staff that can be engaged via an agency. NHS Improvement continue to monitor the safer staffing reports and work with trusts to ensure that staffing levels are maintained and patient safety is not compromised. All NHS services are also subject to inspections for quality and safety by the Care Quality Commission.