Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy for contracts awarded to non-NHS providers to require those providers to provide pay and conditions on NHS Agenda for Change terms for staff that deliver such services.

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 allow for terms and conditions of service to be protected or frozen as they stand on the date of transfer to a non-National Health Service employer. This may also cover any pre-agreed contractual future entitlements if a deal is negotiated and agreed prior to the date of transfer.

However, this does not cover any future changes to NHS terms and conditions of service which may be negotiated under the collective bargaining process after the date of transfer, and where the employer receiving transferred staff is not a participant to the collective bargaining process. This includes annual pay increases under Agenda for Change. We would encourage employees to raise any issues relating to their terms and conditions directly with their employing organisation and/or trade union representative.

The Department and NHS England would expect any proposal to outsource work contracts such as the provision of facilities management services to be supported by a business case which, pursuant to the Government’s public interest test, should clearly demonstrate that the service is delivered in a way that improves quality, ensures greater stability and longer-term investment in the workforce; and delivers better value for money as part of the broader commitments on procurement, as set out in the ‘Make Work Pay’ programme. More information on the program is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/next-steps-to-make-work-pay/next-steps-to-make-work-pay-web-accessible-version