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Agency Nurses

Asked by Helen MorganLiberal DemocratDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 2 April 2025UIN 39598

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to use on-framework staffing agencies to reduce the number of unfilled nursing shifts.

Answered by Karin Smyth

Trusts manage their own procurement processes and must align with framework and procurement regulations, to uphold fairness and deliver value for money. Any breaches of framework rules, including price cap violations, are closely monitored by NHS England through the Temporary Staffing Efficiency Programme.

NHS England will continue to review framework applications as they are submitted, and will continue to communicate outcomes to framework operators and providers, including any updates to the list of approved framework agreements. A list of approved framework agreements can be found on NHS England’s website, at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/reducing-expenditure-on-nhs-agency-staff-rules-and-price-caps/agency-rules-list-of-approved-framework-agreements-for-all-staff/

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