NHS unions reach pay deal after government offers 5% rise

Published

2 years ago

March 16, 2023

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NHS unions have reached a pay deal with the government in a major breakthrough that could herald the end of strikes by frontline staff in England.

The offer consists of a one-off payment of 2% of their salary for the current financial year 2022/23 and a 5% pay increase for 2023/24.

It will apply to key NHS workers including nurses and paramedics but not junior doctors, who are involved in a separate dispute over pay and conditions.

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Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the deal means a newly qualified nurse will get more than £1,800 this year on top of a pay rise of more than £1,300 next year.

He said: “I hugely admire the incredible work of NHS staff, including during the pandemic and the progress they have made to tackle the resulting backlog.

“This offer will give nurses, paramedics, physiotherapists and other non-medical staff a fair pay rise while protecting our commitment to halve inflation.”

The offer will now be put to union members for a vote, with industrial action paused during that process.

The Royal College of Nursing, GMB and Unison said they will recommend their members accept the offer – but Unite said it was not good enough.

The unions represent a wide variety of health staff including nurses, paramedics, 999 call handlers, midwives, security guards and cleaners.

Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, said the decision ultimately lay with members and strikes will be paused while they are consulted on the deal.

But she added: “The offer from government is not one that Unite can recommend to our members.

“It is clear that this government does not hold the interest of workers or the NHS at heart. Their behaviour and disdain for NHS workers and workers generally is clear from their actions.

“Britain has a broken economy and workers are paying the price.”

NHS strikes have forced govt into action due to waiting time targets

Liz Bates

Political correspondent

@wizbates

It looks like the government could be on the brink of a breakthrough with striking NHS workers, who will now vote on the latest pay offer.

For months, ministers insisted that they could not budge on pay because they needed to prioritise the public finances and did not want to risk rising wages fuelling inflation.

But that position seems to have softened over the past few weeks and now we see the purse strings have been loosened and some extra cash has suddenly been found.

So why the shift?

Whilst it appeared that Number 10 were – in the early stages – willing to tough out industrial action across a range of sectors, the longer it goes on the more political damage it does.

Day-to-day strikes are disrupting the public in many aspects of their lives, from getting to work to getting vital NHS treatment, and the finger of blame always tends, in the end, to point to those in power.

But the walkouts in the NHS have also created a very specific political problem for the prime minister who has made reducing waiting lists one of his five key pledges – a target he will not be able to hit whilst workers are on the picket line.

So, it is no surprise that this is the area that has been the focus of the most intense negotiations.

Ministers will now be hoping that if a deal is done with this sector others will follow and they will be able to tell voters that broken Britain is slowly but surely getting fixed.

‘Extra 2.5bn put on table’

Other unions were more welcoming of the agreement, even as they acknowledged it was “far from perfect”.

Unison said the one-off payment is worth £1,655 for staff at the bottom of band two (for example porters, cleaners and healthcare assistants), £2,009 for staff at the top of band five (nurses, midwives, physiotherapists), £2,162 at the top of band six (paramedics, health visitors, senior occupational therapists) and £3,789 for staff at the top of band nine.

Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said the offer is a “huge uplift for the lowest paid to keep them well above the Real Living Wage” as she called the offer “reasonable”.

She said the deal was reached after the government agreed to put an extra £2.5bn on the table to fund the pay increases.

“GMB members should rightly be proud of themselves. It’s been a tough road but they have faced down the Department of Health and won an offer that we feel is the best that can be achieved at this stage through negotiation,” Ms Harrison added.

She said progress has also been made on non-pay demands, such as addressing violence in the workplace.

Nursing staff ‘vindicated’

RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, also welcomed the agreement, saying: “The government was forced into these negotiations and to reopen the pay award as a result of the historic pressure from nursing staff. Members took the hardest of decisions to go on strike and I believe they have been vindicated today.”

It is not clear how the pay rises will be funded, with the government previously saying money for wage increases would have to come out of the budget for frontline services.

When questioned on this Mr Barclay deferred to the Treasury, saying only that it “would not come from areas of the budget that impact on patients”.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also insisted frontline services will “absolutely not” be affected by the pay deal to end strikes but would not say how the package will be funded.

Pressed during a visit to a south London hospital on whether patient care would be hit, the prime minister said: “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.”

He said the deal is “fair and reasonable” and recognises the “fantastic” work NHS staff do while being affordable for the taxpayer.

“It’s a good example of this government getting things done and delivering for the British people,” he said.

Ambulance members of Unison and Unite were due to strike next Monday and physiotherapists were going to walkout later this month but the action has been called off

Other strikes involving nurses and paramedics were paused earlier this month after the government finally agreed to talk about pay.

At the heart of the dispute was a demand for an increase for the current financial year, which ministers initially insisted was not affordable.

Tens of thousands of nurses, paramedics and other healthcare staff went on strike just before Christmas, then again in January and February.

Last month, the government finally agreed to talk about pay, averting several planned walkouts that would have seen thousands more operations cancelled.

The British Medical Association, which represents junior doctors, has called on Mr Barclay to meet with them tomorrow to discuss pay, following a 72-hour walkout earlier this week.

UK

Palace confirms dates of Trump’s state visit – as King and Queen to host him at Windsor Castle

Published

2 hours ago

July 14, 2025

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Palace confirms dates of Trump's state visit - as King and Queen to host him at Windsor Castle

The dates for Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK have been announced, with the US president due to be welcomed by the King from 17 to 19 September.

Buckingham Palace also confirmed that President Trump and first lady Melania will be hosted by the King and Queen at Windsor Castle.

It was expected that the three-day state visit would take place in September after Mr Trump let slip earlier in April that he believed that was when his second “fest” was being planned for.

Windsor was also anticipated to be the location after the US president told reporters in the Oval Office that the letter from the King said Windsor would be the setting. Refurbishment works at Buckingham Palace also meant that Windsor was used last week for French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit.

This will be Mr Trump’s second state visit to the UK, an unprecedented gesture towards an American leader, having previously been invited to Buckingham Palace in 2019.

He has also been to Windsor Castle before, in 2018, but despite the considerable military pageantry of the day, and some confusion around inspecting the guard, it was simply for tea with Queen Elizabeth II.

Further details of what will happen during the three-day visit in September will be announced in due course.

On Friday, Sky News revealed it is now unlikely that the US president will address parliament, usually an honour given to visiting heads of state as part of their visit. Some MPs had raised significant concerns about him being given the privilege.

But the House of Commons will not be sitting at the time of Mr Trump’s visit as it will rise for party conference season on the 16 September, meaning the president will not be able to speak in parliament as President Macron did during his state visit this week. However, the House of Lords will be sitting.

In February this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer presented the US president with the letter from the King inviting him to visit during a meeting at the White House.

After reading it, Mr Trump said it was a “great, great honour”, adding “and that says at Windsor – that’s really something”.

In the letter, the King suggested they might meet at Balmoral or Dumfries House in Scotland first before the much grander state visit. However, it is understood that, although all options were explored, complexities in both the King and Mr Trump’s diaries meant it wasn’t possible.

This week, it emerged that Police Scotland are planning for a summer visit from the US president, which is likely to see him visit one or both of his golf clubs in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire, and require substantial policing resources and probably units to be called in from elsewhere in the UK.

Precedent for second-term US presidents, who have already made a state visit, is usually tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.

UK

Fireball at Southend Airport after small plane crashes

Published

10 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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Fireball at Southend Airport after small plane crashes

A small plane has crashed at Southend Airport in Essex.

Essex Police said it was at the scene of a “serious incident”.

Images posted online showed huge flames and a large cloud of black smoke, with one witness saying they saw a “fireball”.

A police statement said: “We were alerted shortly before 4pm to reports of a collision involving one 12-metre plane.

“We are working with all emergency services at the scene now and that work will be ongoing for several hours.

“We would please ask the public to avoid this area where possible while this work continues.”

It has been reported that the plane involved in the incident is a Beech B200 Super King Air.

According to flight-tracking service Flightradar, it took off at 3.48pm and was bound for Lelystad, a city in the Netherlands.

One man, who was at Southend Airport with his family around the time of the incident, said the aircraft “crashed headfirst into the ground”.

John Johnson said: “About three or four seconds after taking off, it started to bank heavily to its left, and then within a few seconds of that happening, it more or less inverted and crashed.

“There was a big fireball. Obviously, everybody was in shock in terms of witnessing it. All the kids saw it and the families saw it.”

Mr Johnson added that he phoned 999 to report the crash.

Southend Airport said the incident involved “a general aviation aircraft”.

Four flights scheduled to take off from Southend this afternoon were cancelled, according to its website.

Flightradar data shows two planes that had been due to land at Southend were diverted to nearby airports London Gatwick and London Stansted.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said four crews, along with off-road vehicles, have attended the scene.

Four ambulances and four hazardous area response team vehicles are also at the airport, as well as an air ambulance, the East of England Ambulance Service said.

Its statement described the incident as “still developing”.

David Burton-Sampson, the MP for Southend West and Leigh, posted on social media: “I am aware of an incident at Southend Airport. Please keep away and allow the emergency services to do their work.

“My thoughts are with everyone involved.”

Local councillor Matt Dent said on X: “At present all I know is that a small plane has crashed at the airport. My thoughts are with all those involved, and with the emergency services currently responding to the incident.”

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UK

Heidi Alexander says ‘fairness’ will be government’s ‘guiding principle’ when it comes to taxes at next budget

Published

17 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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Heidi Alexander says 'fairness' will be government's 'guiding principle' when it comes to taxes at next budget

Another hint that tax rises are coming in this autumn’s budget has been given by a senior minister.

Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander was asked if Sir Keir Starmer and the rest of the cabinet had discussed hiking taxes in the wake of the government’s failed welfare reforms, which were shot down by their own MPs.

Trevor Phillips asked specifically if tax rises were discussed among the cabinet last week – including on an away day on Friday.

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Tax increases were not discussed “directly”, Ms Alexander said, but ministers were “cognisant” of the challenges facing them.

Asked what this means, Ms Alexander added: “I think your viewers would be surprised if we didn’t recognise that at the budget, the chancellor will need to look at the OBR forecast that is given to her and will make decisions in line with the fiscal rules that she has set out.

“We made a commitment in our manifesto not to be putting up taxes on people on modest incomes, working people. We have stuck to that.”

Ms Alexander said she wouldn’t comment directly on taxes and the budget at this point, adding: “So, the chancellor will set her budget. I’m not going to sit in a TV studio today and speculate on what the contents of that budget might be.

“When it comes to taxation, fairness is going to be our guiding principle.”

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Afterwards, shadow home secretary Chris Philp told Phillips: “That sounds to me like a barely disguised reference to tax rises coming in the autumn.”

He then went on to repeat the Conservative attack lines that Labour are “crashing the economy”.

Mr Philp then attacked the prime minister as “weak” for being unable to get his welfare reforms through the Commons.

Discussions about potential tax rises have come to the fore after the government had to gut its welfare reforms.

Sir Keir had wanted to change Personal Independence Payments (PIP), but a large Labour rebellion forced him to axe the changes.

With the savings from these proposed changes – around £5bn – already worked into the government’s sums, they will now need to find the money somewhere else.

The general belief is that this will take the form of tax rises, rather than spending cuts, with more money needed for military spending commitments, as well as other areas of priority for the government, such as the NHS.