§ Mr. Pavittasked the Secretary of State for Social Services why the pay of experienced registered nurses is reduced when they are taking nursing teacher courses; why there is a disparity between teaching and service nurses' pay; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. VaughanUnder agreements of the Nurses and Midwives Whitley Council, qualified nursing staff who undertake further training are generally paid at an appropriate point on the basic scale of staff nurse or enrolled nurse. Where, however, a registered nurse is accepted on secondment from NHS employment, for a clinical teacher course or a tutor course for nursing, midwifery or health visiting, the Department arranges for her to continue to receive the full normal pay (that is, her basic pay plus London weighting where appropriate) which she received immediately before the course. Course fees, travel and subsistence expenses and a grant towards text books are also paid where appropriate.
Before 1974, nurses engaged in teaching duties were paid on a service pay scale and received a teaching allowance. The Halsbury committee, in its report (*) of September 1974, recommended that teaching allowances should be discontinued and a separate pay structure introduced for teaching grades. This followed a proposal in the earlier report of the Briggs committee (†), which had made wide-ranging recommendations concerning the future of nurse education and had suggested a separate tutorial structure should be established to provide an improved career prospect for nurse teachers.
The Whitley Council accepted the recommendations of the Halsbury committee, and have continued since 1974 to negotiate separate pay structures for service and tutorial grades. The following table gives details of pay scales for tutorial grades and the nearest appropriate service grades as at 1 April, 1980: 51W
Tutorial Structure Salary p.a. £ Non-teaching Structure Salary p.a. £ Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum Divisional Nursing Officer I 9,429 10,836 Director of Nurses Education I 10,212 11,496 Director of Nurse Education IV 8,346 9,630 Assistant Director of Nurse Education 8,396 9,533 Senior Tutor 6,974 8,170 Senior Nursing Officer I 6,868 7,983 Tutor 6,420 7,616 Senior Nursing Officer II 6,560 7,687 Nursing Officer I 6,154 7,350 Nursing Officer II 5,894 7,124 Nursing Sister I Clinical Teacher 5,894 7,124 Nursing (Ward) Sister II 5,309 6,807 * Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Pay and Related Conditions of Service of Nurses and Midwives. † Report of the Committee on Nursing (Cmnd 5115).