To ask the Minister of Health whether he intends to introduce safe staffing legislation during this Assembly mandate.

Safe Staffing legislation is a commitment of the January 2020 Framework Agreement which resolved the Agenda for Change industrial dispute.

A working group, comprising officials from my Department and representatives from Trade Unions, including RCN, has been established and has met to consider the case for legislation.

My Department has asked that the legislation be included in the forward work plan of the Assembly. At this point, the scope, format (primary or secondary) and the scale of the legislation is not yet clear and therefore a timescale for its introduction cannot be confirmed.

Introducing legislation is not simply a matter of copying across from other jurisdictions, we each operate under a different legislative landscape. Introduction of any legislation will have to follow the appropriate processes of consultation and scrutiny.

Please be assured that my Department is committed to developing, in partnership with trade union colleagues, employers and others, the case for safe staffing legislation to be introduced at the earliest legislative opportunity.