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 junior doctors on pay.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has met with the British Medical Association’s Resident, formerly Junior, Doctors Committee (BMA RDC) on several occasions to discuss a range of issues, including pay and working conditions. Most recently he met with the new BMA RDC leadership team on 13 October and subsequently has called the BMA RDC chair to try to avert strike action. Officials from the Department also maintain regular engagement with the BMA RDC.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care made a written offer on 5 November to the British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee (BMA RDC) which included measures to tackle bottlenecks in training, put money back in resident doctors' pockets and ensure that there is consistent implementation of existing contractual entitlements. Unfortunately, the BMA RDC rejected this just hours after being set out in a letter to them, instead choosing to proceed with the damaging strike action taken between 14-19 November.

Resident doctors have received an average 28.9% pay increase since 2022/23, the highest public sector pay rise in the past two years. While the Government has been clear that there is no scope for further pay increases this year, we remain committed to working constructively with the BMA RDC to improve working conditions and support the long-term sustainability of the National Health Service’s workforce.