Select committee: Health and Social Care Committee
Conclusion 22
Third Report - Workforce: recruitment, training and retention in health and social care
Published 25 Jul 2022
Paragraph 89
Addressed to Department of Health and Social Care
Health and Social Care Committee Workforce: recruitment, training and retention in health and social care All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Whilst we welcome changes made to the NHS contract that give every NHS worker a “day one” right to request flexible working, it is clear that this has been insufficient to make flexible working a daily reality in the NHS. No NHS employee should be choosing to locum or work for an agency to regain control over their working life. The NHS must commit to a review of flexible working arrangements in all Trusts, with a view to ensuring that within 12 months all NHS staff have similar flexibilities in their working arrangements to those enjoyed by locum or agency staff. Reduced or flexible hours must be made available to everyone, but especially those with caring responsibilities or those nearing retirement, and investment should be made in technologies which make home-working or remote consultation possible.
From: Health and Social Care Committee, Third Report - Workforce: recruitment, training and retention in health and social care (HC 115), paragraph 89, 25 July 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 21 April 2023 (deadline 25 September 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response sets out partial and varied positions on the Committee's 73 recommendations, with some agreed, some agreed in principle, and others not agreed, and points to the forthcoming Long Term Workforce Plan.
- On workforce planning (Recommendations 1 and 2) it states "We agree this recommendation" and says the Long Term Workforce Plan will include independently verified projections for 5, 10 and 15 years, which it has "committed to publishing" "shortly".
- On a new nursing bursary scheme (Recommendation 3) it says "We do not agree with this recommendation", citing the training grants already available to nursing, midwifery and allied health students.
- On maternity funding and workforce plans (Recommendations 9 and 10) it states "We disagree with these recommendations", but says it "will consider" the forthcoming Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists report and "will keep further funding under review".
- On social care funding it states "We do not accept" the recommendation of an extra £7 billion a year by 2023-24, pointing to up to £2.8 billion in 2023-24 and up to £4.7bn in 2024-25.