§ 27. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Minister of Health when he expects to receive from the National Board for Prices and Incomes the report on the pay of nurses; and whether an increase will be back-dated to the date on which the last claim was submitted.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonNot before the end of the year. It will be for the Board to make recommendations on the operative date of any increase it may propose.
§ Mr. HamiltonDoes not my right hon. Friend agree that the nurses come within one of the criteria of the prices and incomes policy for a substantial increase, namely, that they are among the lower-paid sections of the community? Since the claim was originally put in in February, will my right hon. Friend give an assurance that there will be back-dating and that there will not be a proportionate increase in the cost of accommodation for nurses when they get the increase which they have long deserved?
§ Mr. RobinsonI note my right hon. Friend's views, but I think that he will recognise that these are matters for the Board while it is considering the claim.