Prime Minister is not for turning on public sector workers’ pay cap

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MICHAEL SETTLE

the planned continuation of the cap until 2019/20.

Mr Hurd said: “We want to make sure frontline public service workers, including the police, are paid fairly for their work, not least because of the contribution that they have made over the years to reducing the deficit that we inherited. How we do that in a way that is sustainable and affordable is under active discussion.”

Responding to his comments, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said: “There are public sector pay review bodies carrying out their work. We are in the process of working through recommendations. That is what the minister was referring to.”

Last week, Derek Mackay, the Scottish Government’s Finance Secretary, promised to lift the cap on public sector pay unilaterally north of the Border in the face of threats by nurses to go on strike. But Kezia Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader, has demanded answers from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon over her “vague promises” to lift the pay cap for Scottish workers.

Earlier in the day, a UK Government source close to Mr Johnson made clear he wanted a wage boost for public sector workers and believed any pay review recommendations that backed one should be followed.

The insider explained Mr Johnson strongly believed a rise could be achieved in a “responsible way”, which would not put undue pressure on the public finances and would take into account the aim of Chancellor Philip Hammond to balance the books by 2025.

The Foreign Secretary’s views go further than those stated by his old adversary and Cabinet colleague Michael Gove, who at the weekend said the Government had “to listen” to the pay review bodies.

But as pressure from her

Cabinet colleagues continued to grow to ease austerity and lift the pay cap, Mrs May’s spokesman sought to dampen down expectations, saying: “The position is exactly as it was set out last week, in that there are pay review bodies reporting. We have responded to some and we will respond to others.”

Recommendations for a one per cent pay rise this year for nurses, doctors, dentists and the armed forces have already been accepted by ministers, but more are still to come from review bodies dealing with teachers, police and senior civil servants.

Asked whether it would be open to the Chancellor retrospectively to reopen decisions taken earlier this year, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “These are the settlements for 2017/18.”

Increasing public sector pay would boost the earnings of 5.1 million workers – each one per cent rise costs the Exchequer £1.5 billion.

Alex Salmond turned down TV opportunity.