My Department has not had any discussions with Unison staff regarding local government reorganisation in the invitation area of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, which includes the area of Huntingdonshire. The Government strongly encourages councils going through reorganisation to engage constructively with trade unions and relevant staff representatives prior to and throughout the reorganisation process.

The Department has been working closely with trade unions, including Unison, as we develop support and guidance to assist councils with the transition and will continue to do so throughout the process.

Several discussions have focussed on staffing matters involved in reorganisation, specifically the transfer of staff from predecessor councils to new unitaries, in recognition of the vital role staff representatives will have throughout this process.

Home Office ministers have met with a range of stakeholders, including UNISON and other trade unions, since the Home Secretary announced proposed changes to restore order and control to the immigration system.

Contract award decisions in the National Health Service fall directly to individual NHS bodies, who are responsible for running their own procurement exercises. Ministers at the Department do not have general powers in legislation to direct trusts in relation to the exercise of any of their functions, including in relation to specific contractual decisions. The NHS has established governance processes, in line with Government procurement policy and best practice, to ensure that appropriate contractual decisions are made that represent value for money.

The three NHS Dorset foundation trusts have undertaken two months of engagement concerning proposals to establish a wholly owned subsidiary company to deliver estates and facilities management services. Relevant papers concerning the proposal were placed in the public domain in June 2025 for board meetings held in that month. Under the proposals, the trusts have advised NHS England that there will be no job reductions, and that transferred staff will keep their pay and terms and conditions exactly aligned with the NHS. This covers both current and new staff. NHS England will review the level of assurance around the trust boards’ self-certification as to their readiness to proceed to the next formal consultation stage, which will involve staff and unions.

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations allow for terms and conditions of service to be protected or frozen as they stand on the date of transfer to a new employer, like a wholly owned subsidiary. NHS trust wholly owned subsidiaries can apply for access to the NHS Pension Scheme for compulsorily transferring staff, and new starters.

The Government expects that any outsourced services are delivered by trusts in a way that improves quality, ensures greater stability and longer-term investment in the workforce, and delivers better value for money, as part of the broader commitments on procurement, as set out in the Make Work Pay programme, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/make-work-pay

NHS staff continue to work incredibly hard on delivering the best possible care for patients, and wherever they work across the health service, we expect the highest standards and good terms and conditions.

On 22 May 2025, the Government announced that it was formally accepting the 2025/26 headline pay recommendations for National Health Service staff in England from the NHS Pay Review Body, the Review Body on Doctors and Dentists Remuneration, and the Senior Salaries Review Body. These awards will be backdated to 1 April 2025, and staff can expect to receive their awards from August.

All Agenda for Change (AfC) pay points in England will be uplifted by 3.6% for 2025/26. We have also accepted the recommendation to provide the NHS Staff Council with a funded mandate to deliver changes to the AfC pay structure. We will work with the NHS Staff Council so that we can implement the changes by 1 April 2026.

The Department does not hold the information requested. Trade union representatives are entitled to time off to enable them to carry out their trade union duties or to take part in union training.

It is important that, where possible, employers make available to union representatives the facilities necessary for them to fulfil their duties, and to communicate effectively with their members. Section 25 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service (Agenda for Change) sets out that where resources permit, the facilities for recognised trade unions should include the use of dedicated office space.

The Government is committed to resetting relationships with the National Health Service workforce and its trade unions, and health ministers have met UNISON officials to discuss their concerns. The Government has been clear that it remains committed to providing a funded mandate to the NHS Staff Council to negotiate changes to the Agenda for Change pay structure.

The Department intends to deliver this mandate in 2025/26, and we have asked the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) to provide a view on the level of funding that should be provided. Once we receive the NHSPRB’s report and the funding has been confirmed, the Department will work closely with the NHS Staff Council, including UNISON, to agree the changes to the pay structure.

Details of meetings held by ministers and the Secretary of State in the Department are published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings#2022

A full list of ministerial meetings from October to December 2022 will be published at the same link in due course.

Ministerial meetings are published on GOV.UK at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings#2022

Maintained nursery schools are an important part of the early years sector, and they provide support for some of our most disadvantaged children. The government provides local authorities that have maintained nursery schools with supplementary funding, to enable them to protect maintained nursery schools’ 2016-17 financial year funding levels. As local authorities individually decided the funding levels of maintained nursery schools at that time, this means that there is a range of funding levels across the country.

We have confirmed the continuation of maintained nursery school supplementary funding throughout the three year spending period, providing the sector with long-term certainty. For financial year 2022-23, we will increase the maintained nursery schools supplementary hourly funding rate by 3.5%, which is equivalent to the increase in the three and four-year-old hourly funding rates.

The survey carried out by Early Education, NAHT, National Education Union and UNISON is a valuable contribution to our understanding of the maintained nursery schools. We continue to work closely with sector representatives to understand issues affecting them.

The government consulted on the misuse of confidentiality clauses in employer/employee relationships in 2019, and in response announced that we will legislate to prevent the misuse of Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in the workplace – including those being used to cover up harassment and discrimination. This will strengthen protections for individuals and create a create a fairer workplace for all.

In responding to that consultation, the University and College Union (UCU) and other unions expressed concern about the misuse of NDAs to 'gag' staff after experiencing poor behaviour in the workplace, including bullying, discrimination or sexual misconduct.

The department does not hold data on the use of NDAs in higher education and therefore has not made any specific analysis of their use. While there are a range of legitimate reasons why universities may use NDAs, including, for example, the protection of commercially sensitive information related to university research, we recognise their misuse is an area of concern.

We have clear expectations that universities should only use NDAs where necessary and appropriate. Any misuse of these agreements to hide workplace harassment or withhold details of student complaints is completely unacceptable and can not only distress individuals but also risk bringing the reputation of our world-leading higher education system into disrepute.

Sexual misconduct and harassment are unacceptable in higher education, as elsewhere, and government expects higher education providers to have robust and appropriate policies and procedures in place to effectively handle disclosures and reports of such behaviour by students and staff.

The Office for Students (OfS) is currently consulting on its approach to regulation and its expectations for providers in addressing sexual misconduct and harassment in their institutions. This consultation closes on 27 March. Government officials meet at least quarterly with both the OfS and Universities UK specifically to discuss making progress on tackling harassment in higher education.