Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Locum Doctors and Nurses

Tuesday 1 March 2022 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Esther McVey asked for clarity on the percentage of doctors and nurses paid locum rates in the NHS.
  • The Minister stated there were 14,826 full-time-equivalent agency nurses and 4,621 medical and dental agency staff in NHS hospital trusts in 2021-22.
  • The Minister acknowledged the importance of ensuring value for money in NHS spending, particularly regarding agency and locum costs.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Esther McVey Con Tatton
NHS
Context

The question arises from concerns about the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of NHS funding, specifically regarding the percentage of doctors and nurses paid at higher locum rates.

Question

If he will make an estimate of the percentage of (a) doctors and (b) nurses being paid locum rates in the latest week for which figures are available. Can we get greater clarity on that information and have it held centrally, given that wages are such a large proportion of the NHS budget? It is essential to know how many hours are paid at the higher locum rate to ensure value for money for the extra billions of pounds that the Government are putting into the NHS.

Answer from Edward Argar

In NHS hospital trusts to date in 2021-22, there have been on average 14,826 full-time-equivalent agency nurses and 4,621 medical and dental FTE agency staff. It is hard to draw direct percentage comparisons given different methodologies for measuring such percentages, but my understanding is that overall about 3% of nursing shifts and about 1.5% of doctors' shifts in hospitals are filled by locums or agency staff. We continue to work hard to drive down agency and locum spend, focusing instead on both bank staff and our full-time recruitment.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific percentage estimates and centralised tracking of locum rates were not provided

How: We Continue To Work Hard, My Understanding Is That Overall About 3%

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Q2 Esther McVey Con Tatton
NHS
Context

The question follows an earlier inquiry on the percentage of NHS staff paid at higher locum rates, with a focus on ensuring value for money in relation to government funding.

Question

Can we get greater clarity on that information and have it held centrally, given that wages are such a large proportion of the NHS budget? It is essential to know how many hours are paid at the higher locum rate to ensure value for money for the extra billions of pounds that the Government are putting into the NHS.

Answer from Edward Argar

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend, who is tireless in her determination to ensure value for money for her and all of our taxpayers' pounds, particularly in this space. We continue to work hard to drive down agency and locum spend, focusing instead on both bank staff and our full-time recruitment, on which the Secretary of State has set out the success that we have been having. Since 2015, we have controlled agency spend through price caps and procurement frameworks.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific percentage estimates and centralised tracking were not provided

How: We Continue To Work Hard, Controlled Agency Spend Through Price Caps

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