Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of Monitor’s use of temporary staff to work with NHS Foundation Trusts on reducing agency staff costs as a model for the National Health Service.

This Government is determined to reduce expensive staffing agency costs in the National Health Service.

Monitor’s project will look at how best to reduce this spend and enable the NHS to set up systems to deliver savings.

Spending on temporary staff in the NHS was £2.4 billion in 2013-14. In contrast, this initial work, led by Monitor, will cost £175,000 (excluding VAT) and could lead to substantive appointments being made to take the work forwards if required.