Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the British Medical Association on incentivising hospital consultants to routinely work on weekends.

There have been no discussions between the current health ministers in England and the British Medical Association on incentivising hospital consultants to routinely work on weekends.

Hospital consultants agree job plans with their employer at a local level. The job plan sets out all the consultant’s duties and responsibilities and includes a job schedule, which details when those duties and responsibilities will be delivered. Any scheduled work delivered on weekends would fall under enhanced pay arrangements as per the national terms and conditions of employment for hospital consultants in England.