Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when Section 16 of the NHS Staff Terms and Conditions (Agenda for Change) handbook was last reviewed in relation to the partial retirement scheme introduced in October 2023; and whether his Department has any plans to update this section to ensure fairness for staff who took partial retirement.

Section 16 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service handbook, also referred to as Agenda for Change, sets out the contractual redundancy provisions for staff covered by these terms and conditions. These contractual redundancy provisions for staff in England were agreed and ratified in partnership by the NHS Staff Council, the collective bargaining structure made up of trade union and employer representatives. Section 16 was last reviewed by the NHS Staff Council in 2015. No changes to the contractual redundancy provisions in England have been made since.

Any future changes to the handbook, including changes to this section, would require the Department to issue a mandate to allow negotiations to be undertaken by the NHS Staff Council.