NHS pay: Welsh minister welcomes lifting of pay cap

Wales' health secretary Vaughan Gething has welcomed news of a £4.2bn pay offer to NHS staff in England, pledging to spend the extra money coming to Wales as a result on NHS pay too.

England's Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has urged Wales to match his offer, worth at least 6.5% over three years to staff such as nurses and porters.

Some of the lowest-paid workers are set to receive 29%.

Scottish ministers have promised to ensure NHS workers there earn at least as much as their counterparts elsewhere in the UK.

NHS managers and unions will discuss the way forward at a meeting with the Welsh Government on Thursday.

Mr Gething told the Senedd on Wednesday he welcomed the NHS pay offer in England and the prospect of extra money for Wales, but he warned it would not make up for real-terms pay cuts over eight years of austerity.