PMQs: Give MPs a vote on NHS pay, says Sir Keir Starmer

Boris Johnson has been urged to give MPs a vote on NHS pay in England, at Prime Minister's Questions.

Sir Keir Starmer said a proposed 1% rise amounted to a pay cut once inflation had been taken into account.

"Even his own MPs know he's got this wrong," the Labour leader told the PM.

Mr Johnson said he would "study" what an independent pay review panel says when it reports in May - but the government wanted to give NHS workers a rise, amid a public sector pay freeze.

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The government has recommended a 1% increase to the pay body, saying it is all the country can afford at the present time.

'Clap for carers'

The NHS in England had budgeted for a 2.1% rise this year before the pandemic, the service's chief Sir Simon Stevens confirmed on Tuesday.

Sir Keir said the government had broken its promise to health workers - and he accused the PM of choosing to "shut the door in their face at the first opportunity", having previously clapped for carers on the steps of Downing Street.

He also contrasted the proposed pay deal for the NHS with the £45,000 pay rise awarded to the PM's former adviser Dominic Cummings, who has since left Downing Street.

Sir Keir said: "The mask really is slipping and we can see what the Conservative Party now stands for - cutting pay for nurses, putting taxes up on families.

"He's had the opportunity to change course but he's refused, so if he's so determined to cut NHS pay, will he at least show some courage and put it to a vote in this Parliament?"

'Steady course'

The Labour leader highlighted reported comments from unnamed Conservative MPs calling the proposed pay deal "inept" and "unacceptable".

He claimed NHS pay had "fallen in real terms by more than £800".

Did Keir Starmer vote against NHS plan?

Boris Johnson told MPs Sir Keir Starmer voted against the 2019 long-term plan for the NHS, after the Labour leader referred to it.

That is not correct - there were no votes on the NHS Funding Bill 2019-20 during its main stages through parliament.

Sir Keir had referred to the plan, saying that it committed the government to a 2.1% pay rise for the NHS.

The government has now recommended that NHS staff in England should receive a 1% pay increase this year.

On Tuesday, the head of NHS England, Sir Simon Stevens told a committee of MPs that the plan had indeed assumed a 2.1% rise.

But he also said "things have changed" since then and that it should now be up to the pay-review body.

Mr Johnson said a "massive debt" was owed to NHS workers and the government had asked the review board to treat their pay award "exceptionally," in comparison with other public sector workers.

"We're increasing pay for nurses, we're massively increasing our investment in the NHS," he told MPs.

"We are steering a steady course, whereas he [Sir Keir] weaves and wobbles from one week to the next."

He defended the government's record on investment in NHS training and recruitment and said he would "study" the pay board's final report in May.

What do NHS workers in England earn?

• The lowest minimum full-time salary - for newly-employed drivers, housekeeping assistants, nursery assistants and domestic support workers - is £18,005 per year

• The starting salary for most newly-qualified nurses is £24,907

• Staff in "high-cost areas", such as London, get extra payments

• According to NHS Digital, the average pay of nurses is £33,788

What are key workers paid?

The NHS in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is run by the devolved administrations.

The Scottish government has announced that 2021-22 pay negotiations will be delayed until the summer - staff have been given an "interim" pay rise of 1%, which will form part of the new settlement. Staff will also get a one-off £500 bonus as a "thank you" for their efforts during the pandemic.

NHS workers in Northern Ireland were promised a one-off £500 "special recognition" payment in January; and the Welsh government has said it will not set a "ceiling" of 1% on NHS pay rises for 2021-22.