NHS pay cap scrapped, but MPS told funding is insufficient

 Ministers have been warned they will need to find additional funding for the NHS if staff are to receive pay rises above 1 per cent.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday confirmed the pay cap will be abolished for the health service.

However, he would not say whether boosts to basic pay would come from cuts elsewhere in the NHS. Mr Hunt told MPS: “We recognise it wasn’t sustainable to carry on with the 1 per cent going forward, and that’s why next year we’ve been given the leeway to have more flexible negotiations. The latitude that the Chancellor has given me in terms of negotiating pay rises is partly linked to productivity improvements that we will negotiate at the same time.” Simon Stevens, head of the NHS, told the Commons health committee extra funds were needed. “Over time it will be necessary for NHS staff to get rates of pay that are consistent with the rest of the economy,” he said.

“But that does need to be funded.” He said without more cash in the next Budget, the NHS would struggle to meet its commitments.