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 effect of the one per cent pay rise for NHS staff announced in Budget 2021 on the (a) economy and (b) retention of nurses.

The Government has committed to providing National Health Service staff, including nurses with, a pay increase in 2021/22, in order to recognise the unique impact of the pandemic on the NHS. However, the level of pay award has not yet been set. We have submitted our written evidence to the independent pay review bodies, which sets out what is currently affordable and provides information on current levels of recruitment and retention in the NHS.