Labour responds to Sir Simon Stevens’ admission NHS staff were promised a 2.1 per cent pay increase

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to Sir Simon Stevens’ admission at the Health Select Committee that NHS staff were promised a 2.1 per cent pay increase, said:

“The head of the NHS has confirmed what we already knew: the Conservatives have broken their promise to the NHS and are cutting nurses’ pay.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

Transcript from Health Select Committee exchange

Jeremy Hunt:

The extra funding in 2018 showed NHS salaries budgeted to increase by 2.1 per cent this year, were you told of the Government's decision to recommend changing this to 1 per cent? And if so, what reasons were you given?

Simon Stevens:

Thank you, Chair. Yes, as you say, at the time we published the long term plan, and then shortly thereafter in 2019, we laid out the underpinning Financial Assumptions.

Obviously, that was approaching two years ago, so things have changed. But as you say, at the time, the working assumption was that there would be available 2.1 per cent for the costs of the agenda for change pay group in 2022, together with the overhang from the 2021 elements of the multi year agenda for change pay deals.