Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness of and (b) equity of access to the application process for the backlog bonus payment under the NHS Agenda for Change umbrella for (i) the third sector and (ii) social enterprises.

The Department developed clear and transparent criteria for the application process, which was published by NHS England and accessible to all non-National Health Service organisations. The criteria was agreed to ensure that the funding was given to those most impacted by the NHS pay deal, due to the nature of their contracts and their financial circumstances.

Outcomes of applications will be communicated directly to organisations by the end of the financial year. Organisations will be entitled to seek a review of the decision, which will be undertaken by the Department, to determine if the decision has been reached correctly in accordance with the guidance.