NHS pay cap ‘has been scrapped’, says Jeremy Hunt
2 min read
The Government's 1% cap on public sector wage rises has officially been "scrapped", a Cabinet minister has confirmed.
Jeremy Hunt told MPs he would soon have the “leeway to have more flexible negotiations” on lifting the cap above the “unsustainable” level, which has limited rises in pay for NHS staff since 2013.
The move follows the Government’s announcement last month that the restraint would end in the spring of next year, but is the furthest a minister has gone in terms of how the change would operate in the health service.
When pressed on the issue by Labour MP Marsha de Cordova, the Health Secretary said: “I can give her good news, the pay cap has been scrapped.”
That response followed Mr Hunt declaring that while he accepted the cap had been "challenging" for workers in the sector, lifting it earlier would have meant the NHS would not have been able to recruit 30,000 extra staff since 2010.
He added: “Without pay restraint we wouldn’t have 11,300 more doctors in the NHS, 11,300 more nurses in our wards. But he will be aware that we recognise that it wasn’t sustainable to carry on with the 1% going forward and that’s why next year we’ve been given the leeway to have more flexible negotiations.”
In September, the Government said police officers would get a 1% rise plus a 1% bonus from April, with prison officers receiving a 1.7% rise.
Unions have repeatedly warned of wage deflation resulting in nurses leaving the NHS, with threats of strike action should the Government fail to heed their warnings.
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