Health written question – answered at on 27 November 2012.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health
(1) what steps he is taking to limit the number of redundancies in the NHS due to clinical commissioning groups and commissioning support units deciding to employ staff and buy services from outside the NHS;
(2) what steps he is taking to ensure that the current reorganisation of the NHS does not result in a disproportionately negative outcome for staff in (a) the North West, (b) the North East and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber;
(3) if he will make it his policy that staff employed in primary care trusts in the northern regions who may be made redundant should be considered for employment by clinical commissioning groups and commissioning support units before those organisations recruit externally;
(4) what assessment he has made of the extent to which effort is being made to redeploy existing NHS staff within the new structure.
There is no evidence that clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and commissioning support units (CSUs) have decided to buy services from outside the national health service. The expectation is that the majority of primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA) staff will be transferred into the new system and be mainly employed by NHS Commissioning Board (NHSCB), CCGs and CSUs.
The national agreement for the filling of posts in new organisations requires staff at risk to be given priority consideration for vacancies over staff in the wider NHS or outside the NHS. It is only after staff at risk of redundancy have been considered that a vacancy can be advertised to staff in the wider NHS and then to open competition.
An analysis has been undertaken of the distribution of posts in the NHSCB, CCGs and CSUs and there is nothing to suggest that there is any disproportionate variation in the spread of posts throughout the country. We are however aware that West Midlands, the North East and the North West have higher numbers of staff in PCTs and SHAs when compared to other parts of the NHS.
The process of appointing staff to the new organisations is ongoing and we expect every effort to be made by NHS employers to avoid the loss of staff and valuable skills and experience through redundancy. As per Section 16 of Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions of Service, NHS employers have a responsibility before making a member of staff redundant to seek suitable alternative employment (SAE) for that person, either in their own organisation or through arrangements with another NHS employer.
Staff should also ensure that they are able to evidence their efforts to secure SAE as part of the redundancy process. Staff are not entitled to an NHS redundancy payment if they either unreasonably refuse to apply for or accept SAE with their own or another NHS employer within four weeks following their termination date.
Yes1 person thinks so
No1 person thinks not
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