HC Deb 20 March 1990 vol 169 cc1002-3
11. Mr. Mans

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes have been made in the pay and conditions of nurses since 1978–79.

Mr. Clarke

The pay of nursing staff has increased over and above inflation by an average of 43 per cent. in real terms since 1979.

Mr. Mans

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that in addition to the increases in nurses' pay there are many more nurses working in the National Health Service? Does not this show clearly that Opposition claims that the Government do not care about the NHS are totally false?

Mr. Clarke

I agree with my hon. Friend. We have greatly increased the number of nurses, we have hugely increased their pay, we have improved their training and, through the grading system, we have given them a better career structure. This has been one of the Government's main contributions to making the National Health Service an even finer British institution than it was when we took over.

Mr. Cousins

What action does the Secretary of State propose to take to assist the 650 nurses in Newcastle who are still waiting for their grading appeals to be heard two years after the gradings were first awarded?

Mr. Clarke

I told the trade unions that that sort of delay was inevitable. I deeply regret the fact that they did not act on my suggestion that the appeal system should be improved when we introduced the new grading structure. The unions and I were wholly agreed on the desirability of the new grading structure. I cannot understand why they insisted on sticking to an appeal procedure which is incapable of sorting out all the individual grievances in a reasonable time. I should like to see a change in the structure to one that could sensibly handle the workload.

Mr. Dickens

I have been in two hospitals in the north-west recently as a National Health Service patient. Is my right hon. and learned Friend pleased to hear that the nursing profession in our hospitals is in extremely good shape, that morale is high and that the nurses are working as hard as ever and are worth every penny?

Mr. Clarke

I trust that my hon. Friend is in good shape as well. He appears to be in extremely good shape. I am grateful to him for his supplementary question. Nine out of 10 patients have nothing but admiration for the clinical and nursing standards achieved by the NHS. Our reforms and the additional money that we are pouring into the NHS are intended to give more power to the elbow of all those doctors and nurses who contribute so much to all those, including my hon. Friend, who need their help.

Mr. Robin Cook

Does the Secretary of State recall that the parliamentary answer to a question that I tabled showed that for eight years under the Government the number of nurses has increased by 9 per cent. compared with 14 per cent. in five years under the Labour Government? Do not those figures show which party is really committed to the Health Service? Do not they confirm that under the present Government the annual rate of increase in the number of nurses has fallen to a third of the level achieved under Labour, and to only one seventh after the reduction in nurses' hours? Do not those figures show clearly why so many hospitals now cannot cope?

Mr. Clarke

Between 1974 and 1979, the take-home pay of nurses fell by 21 per cent. in real terms. The Government have introduced an independent review body to advise us on nurses' pay and we have given them a 9 per cent. award this year. We have reduced their working week, improved their training and raised their pay on average by 43 per cent. in real terms. It is absurd for the hon. Gentleman to make such pathetic claims in respect of the Labour Government's record which was a shameful one in relation to the nursing profession.

Mr. Bill Walker

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that the figures that he has given show clearly that the Labour party is the party of cheap labour? It increased the number of nurses but reduced their pay whereas we have increased their pay and improved quality. The Royal College of Nursing recognises that.

Mr. Clarke

I agree with my hon. Friend. We have increased the number of nurses in the NHS, and it is plain that we shall continue to do so. By comparing records—[Interruption.]—the public should be able to make a judgment about the real concern and commitment shown by the Conservative party to the Health Service compared with that of our opponents—[Interruption.]

Mr. Speaker

Order. I ask the House to settle down. Too much private conversation is taking place.

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