NHS England Spending on Agency Staff Falls by £1bn

Spending on agency staff across NHS England dropped by almost £1bn in the last financial year, ministers have said, after a pledge by Wes Streeting to cut the amount going to agencies by 30%.

- Peter Walker

Senior political correspondent

According to the Department of Health and Social Care, the total spent by trusts on agency staff during 2024-25 was nearly £1bn lower than the previous year.

In a speech to the NHS Providers conference in November, Streeting, the health secretary, said a lack of permanent staff had resulted in gaps being filled by more expensive agency-provided replacements totalling about £3bn a year.

Under proposals outlined at the time, but not yet enacted, Streeting suggested that NHS trusts could be completely banned from using agency staff for lower-level jobs such as healthcare assistants and domestic support workers.