Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average cost to the public purse is of one band 5 nursing hour supplied by (a) On-framework staffing agencies and (b) Off-framework staffing agencies to the NHS in each year since 2019.

The Department does not hold the data requested.

The Government is committed to reducing off-framework agency use, the cost of which is at a premium, above the agreed framework rates. Additionally, staff hired through off-framework agencies are not subject to the same pre-employment checks as those carried out by on-framework agencies. Off-framework use is actively monitored through NHS England’s governance mechanisms, with additional oversight applied to trusts with recurring non-compliance.

The NHS Planning Guidance 2025/26 states that trusts should reduce their agency spend by a minimum of 30%, and the accompanying Revenue Finance and Contracting Guidance sets the ambition that agency spend should be eliminated in the coming years.