Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made, for the last full year for which data are available, of the total number of individuals who were employed in the NHS at any point during the year under a ‘zero-hours’ co
Answer
The information is not held centrally in the form requested.
Verdict: AMBER (60/100) DATA NOT HELD
The reply states that the government does not hold figures on NHS staff on zero-hours contracts in the form requested. This is an honest answer rather than an evasion, but it gives no related figures or alternative evidence, so the question is answered only in the sense that the data is unavailable. A member of the public would learn that the number isn't collected centrally, but would not get any substitute information about the issue.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What estimate the department has made of the total number of individuals employed in the NHS under a zero-hours contract at any point during the last full year for which data are available. | Data Not Held | Generic | The reply states that the figure is not held centrally in the form requested, which honestly addresses the literal request for an estimate of NHS staff on zero-hours contracts, but it offers no related figures or substitute evidence. |