Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the use of agency staff in the NHS, and (2) any potential impact of the use of agency staff on existing NHS staff shortages.

The introduction of agency rules in 2016 has reduced expenditure on agency staff by approximately £1.2 billion, from £3.6 billion in 2015/16 to £2.4 billion at the end of 2020/21. Agency spend as a percentage of the total wage bill has decreased from 7.9% in 2015/16 to 3.7% in 2020/21.

Reducing the use of agency staff must be balanced with providing safe care to patients. Trusts are able to use flexible staffing to respond to situations where there is insufficient staff. In September 2022, NHS England re-established measures to address spending on agency staff, including a system expenditure limit.