Shropshire Star

Ludlow MP welcomes planned pay rise for NHS staff

Former Health Minister Philip Dunne says he is 'delighted' with plans to give NHS workers a pay rise.

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Former Health Minister and Ludlow MP Philip Dunne

The Ludlow MP said the proposals show that NHS staff are at the top of the Government’s priorities.

Health workers ranging from nurses and ambulance drivers to hospital porters and cleaners are being urged to accept a “significant” pay offer ranging from 6.5 per cent to 29 per cent over the next three years.

The Government is investing £4.2 billion into the deal for over a million workers in England, signalling the end of the seven-year cap on public sector pay.

The pay of the lowest-paid staff, such as porters and cleaners, will increase by 15 per cent, while nurses are being offered their biggest wage increase in a decade.

Mr Dunne said it means a newly qualified nurse will receive starting pay 12.6 per cent higher in 2020-2021 than this year and starting pay for a midwife will increase by 18.1 per cent as a result of this pay reform.

He said the NHS will commit to reducing sickness absence by improving staff health and wellbeing, and all staff will receive better skills and development training.

Mr Dunne said: “I am delighted that these proposals have been put forward by the Government, and in particular, that they focus the most on the lowest paid staff in the NHS with increases of 15 per cent over the next three years.

"This should help recruitment and retention of Agenda for Change staff in Shropshire and across the NHS.

"Now that the government has balanced the day to day spending deficit inherited from Labour, these are the sorts of ways we can invest any extra money."

In response to Mr Dunne welcoming the proposals in the House of Commons, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “I would actually like to pay tribute to him, because when he was working in my department he laid a lot of foundations for this deal. He chaired some very, very important meetings.

"In particular one of the most important areas of consensus which has emerged today, which he should take enormous credit for, is that we are saying the minimum salary for anyone working in the NHS will go up £2,000.

"That is going to make a huge difference – in fact 100,000 people will benefit from that important change, and he should be very proud of that.”