Dear James,
Thank you for your thoughtful email. I am very sorry to hear about your battle with cancer and I am very pleased that you are now in good health.
I believe that the passion, commitment and specialist knowledge of our NHS staff is part of what makes our NHS a globally leader in quality healthcare. Both of my parents have spent much of their lives working in the NHS. I have seen first-hand the sacrifices, strength and indefatigable compassion of our incredible frontline NHS workers over the past year.
The NHS is one of the largest employers in the world and I have been assured that a 1 per cent pay rise for NHS staff as much as could be committed to at this point in the budgetary cycle.
Ostensibly this increase appears modest, but it only represents the most recent incremental increase to the NHS’s 1.3million staff. Of these, almost all have received at least a 6.5 per cent pay rise over the past three years as agreed with trade unions.
Furthermore, the Government provided an uplift of over 12 per cent for the salaries of newly qualified nurses, with the average pay for nurses now around £34,000 per annum. Along with this, a further bursary of £5,000 and an additional £3,000 grant for training has been provided. It is thanks to the investment made by this Government that there are 49,000 more people in the NHS compared with last year’s employment levels. Among those new to the NHS workforce are 10,600 more nurses.
At the beginning of March, the government submitted our evidence to the NHS pay review bodies, which are independent advisory bodies made up of industry experts. Their recommendations are based on an assessment of evidence from a range of stakeholders, including trade unions. They will report their recommendations in late spring, and we will carefully consider their recommendations when we receive them.
You are right; we all owe a huge amount to our nurses, as well as our doctors, radiologists, midwives, security guards, cleaners and many more professions that contribute to the vast ecosystem of the NHS. I know how important it is to honour those in public service. I have informed the Health Secretary that I would welcome the opportunity to discuss with him additional ways to reward the inspiring clinical teams and health service staff across the network of clinics and hospitals.
Yours,
Bim
Bim Afolami MP
Member of Parliament for Hitchin and Harpenden
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