Doctors: Pay
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of pay for resident doctors.
Answered by Karin Smyth
The Government allows the independent Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) to make recommendations on headline pay for doctors, including resident doctors. Within their report they make an assessment on the level of pay with regard to various factors such as recruitment and retention.
We received the latest DDRB report at the end of April and on 22 May 2025, the Government announced the 2025/26 pay awards for National Health Service staff in England. The Government accepted the headline pay recommendations of the DDRB, which meant that resident doctors were awarded an, on average, 5.4% uplift to pay.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has held several meetings with the British Medical Association’s Resident Doctors Committee chairs to discuss pay and wider working conditions since the report was received.
Resident doctors received the highest pay award of the entire public sector this year, an average 28.9% pay rise compared to three years ago.
The process for the 2026/27 pay round is already underway, with the Department setting out the remit to the DDRB in July. The DDRB report, which was submitted earlier this year, is available at the following link:
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