NHS leaders demand end to public sector pay restraint

NHS and social care leaders have written to the Chancellor asking for an end to public sector pay restraint, and requesting him to step up the pace of investment in both sectors.

Ahead of the upcoming Autumn Budget, the leaders have co-signed a letter to the Treasury asking that the £8 billion increase to the NHS budget which the Conservative Party committed to over the course of this Parliament should be front-loaded to address immediate pressures.

The letter reads: “Even if the government were only to stick to its current commitment, we believe the remaining £5.2 billion should not be reserved for the last two years of the Parliament. It should instead be brought forward now to address significant current challenges. The Treasury should revisit its current spending plans for 2018/19 and 2019/20 to make sure that the system is able to maintain high standards of care.

“Pay restraint is a major factor affecting staff working in health, social care and the wider public sector. Vacancy rates, particularly in clinical grades in both hospital and community alternatives, are now affecting the quality of care which people experience. We therefore support a relaxation of pay restraint, but additional costs that result must be funded in full by the government.”

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation and lead signatory on the letter, said: “The wide support for this letter should be a wake-up call for the Treasury – all the medical royal colleges, the entire NHS, major voluntary organisations plus social care and carers are calling on the government and indeed the entire political class to wake up to this challenge.”