NHS: Pay

(asked on 10th October 2014) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to implement in full the recommendations of the Pay Review Body for all NHS staff; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Dan Poulter Portrait
Dan Poulter
This question was answered on 20th October 2014

The Government has had to make difficult decisions this year on pay but staff will be receiving either an annual incremental increase in pay or a pay award worth at least 1%.

The Government is committed to a National Health Service that provides safe, compassionate care. The choice we faced was either to invest more in pay or to protect the front line; we cannot afford to do both. The Government believes the decision to protect the front line, whilst a difficult decision to make, was the correct one.

Since 2010 there has been an increase of 15,000 clinical staff in the NHS in England including 4,500 additional nurses.

General medical contractors and general dental contractors did receive a consolidated award, as in November 2012 they agreed changes to their contracts to improve services and to end time-based progression pay. These important changes mean that GP earnings more fairly reflect the surgery workload and performance; this is why it was affordable for us to accept the pay review body recommendations

Government have made it clear to the NHS trades unions that it is prepared to discuss any proposals, within the existing pay bill, that could make consolidated awards affordable.

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