Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of access to salary sacrifice schemes for NHS staff on lower pay-bands in the context of the increase in the minimum wage before the implementation of an NHS pay award for the 2024-25 financial year.

Employers in the National Health Service offer a broad range of salary sacrifice schemes, which have varying value. The interaction with the national minimum wage (NMW) must be considered for all employees that participate in one or more of these schemes, to ensure that participation does not breach HM Revenue and Customs’ rules. The Department is currently working with employers in the NHS to understand the potential impacts of the NMW increase on access to salary sacrifice schemes for all NHS staff.