NHS pay rises will cost £4bn and will be funded from ‘areas of underspending’, govt says
The government needs to find £4bn in spare cash to fund NHS pay rises, with some of it coming from “areas of underspend”.
The one-off payment offered to frontline workers on Thursday will cost £2.7bn, Downing Street has said, while the 5% pay rise will cost £1.3bn.
A 3.5% pay increase had already been factored into the existing budget before a new deal was put to health unions, leaving ministers scrambling to find the rest.
Asked where the money will come from, the PM’s spokesperson said “areas of underspending” had been identified.
They did not go into specifics but added “we will discuss with Treasury and work together to resolve any new funding needs”.
Pressed on the source of the funding again, they said the money is “not coming from patient-facing services”.
Ministers previously said they can’t afford to give striking NHS workers a pay rise because the money would have to be taken out of the existing NHS budget – which was not considered an option at a time of record-high waiting lists.
But there was a major breakthrough on Thursday as the government and unions reached a new deal that could herald the end of industrial action across most of the health service.
The offer consists of a one-off payment of 2% of their salary plus a COVID recovery bonus of 4% for the current financial year 2022/23, and a 5% pay increase for 2023/24.
The government has insisted the pay deal to end strikes won’t come out of the budget for patient services
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said it will apply to thousands of key workers including nurses, paramedics and midwives but could not say how the rise would be funded.
When questioned on this he deferred to the Treasury, saying only that it “would not come from areas of the budget that impact on patients”.
The prime minister gave a similar answer when pressed during a visit to a south London hospital on whether patient care would be hit, saying: “Absolutely not. We’re going to be making sure we protect all frontline services with £14bn of more funding we announced at the end of last year.”
Most unions have recommended members vote for the pay rise, and have agreed to pause industrial action during that process.
Only Unite said it could not recommend the deal to its membership but said a vote would ultimately decide the union’s position on the offer.
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Junior doctors have welcomed pay talks with the Health Secretary and are ‘hopeful’ the dispute can be resolved to avert further strikes.
Tens of thousands of nurses, paramedics and other healthcare staff went on strike just before Christmas, then again in January and February, leading to the cancellation of around 140,000 appointments and operations.
Labour criticised the government for delays in getting around the negotiating table, with shadow health secretary Wes Streeting branding his government counterpart “lastminute.com Steve Barclay”.
Speaking to Sky News, he accused the health secretary of “having cheek” by deferring questions on how the pay rise will be funded to the Treasury, adding: “Newsflash Steve Barclay, the budget was yesterday.
“If he pulled his finger out before Christmas and negotiated a deal, not only would we have avoided the strike action and the 140,000 cancelled operations and appointments, he might have got a better deal for the NHS.”
The breakthrough has sparked hopes of resolving other long-running industrial disputes, with the government and education unions beginning “intensive” talks today on pay and conditions.
Asked whether an offer to teachers could look similar to the NHS deal, the PM’s spokesperson stressed that each pay offer is “unique”, and the two-pronged agreement is “specific to the work NHS staff have done”.
Asked if that recognition will apply to junior doctors, who are embroiled in a separate dispute, the spokesperson said: “We want talks to start as soon as possible but it’s dependent on them cancelling or pausing strikes. As soon as they pause strike action we can have talks.”
UK
‘Major incident’ declared in Northern Ireland as wildfire breaks out amid higher-than-normal temperatures
A major incident has been declared in Northern Ireland after a wildfire broke out, the latest in a series of blazes seen across the UK over the past week amid soaring temperatures.
More than 100 firefighters and 14 fire appliances were at the scene of the “significant” wildfire on Sandbank Road, Hilltown, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said.
The fire had a front of approximately two miles “including a large area of forestry close to property”, the service said.
The wildfire on Sandbank Road, Hilltown. Pic: Sky Watch NI
“Local residents are requested to avoid the area, a number of roads have been closed, to help support firefighting operations,” the fire service added.
“We ask that all members of the public remain particularly vigilant to the risk of fire at this time. We can reassure members of the public that normal service delivery is being maintained.”
More than 100 firefighters were at the scene of the fire. Pic: Sky Watch NI
Various fires erupted across England this week amid uncharacteristically warm and dry conditions for the time of year.
On Saturday, helicopters were deployed to tackle Scotland’s fourth wildfire this week, with police saying a blaze “which started in the Newton Stewart area has spread northwards and is expected to reach the Loch Doon area of East Ayrshire around 12am on Sunday”.
Police Scotland added: “As a precautionary measure members of the public are asked to avoid the Loch Doon area and anyone who may be camping in the area is advised to leave.”
Moors Valley Country Park blackened by fires this week
Elsewhere in England, Devon and Cornwall Police said they were assisting the fire service with temporary road closures on the A30 in the Bolventor area as they tackle “a number of fires” on moorland.
In Dorset, Moors Valley Country Park was forced to close after multiple wildfires broke out there on Wednesday.
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Wildfires spread across nature reserve
Separate incidents were then reported at Upton Heath in Poole on Wednesday, and nearby Canford Heath in the early hours of Thursday.
Friday was officially the warmest day of the year so far – with temperatures in the south of England reaching 23C (73.4F) – the highest since 21 September last year, according to the Met Office.
The weather conditions triggered a “severe” wildfire rating for parts of the UK on Tuesday.
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