Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the annual tapered allowance on the retention of doctors in NHS hospitals.

The Government is committed to public service pensions which are fair to workers and fair to other taxpayers. The tapered annual allowance is focussed on the highest earning pension savers, to ensure that the tax relief they receive is not disproportionate to that of other savers. The Government is aware of specific concerns raised by some high-earning NHS doctors impacted by annual allowance tax charges. As the Chancellor said at the Treasury Select Committee, we are currently in discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care about providing additional pension flexibility for NHS doctors affected by annual allowance tax charges.