§ Mr. Moyleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make an offer of a 7.5 per cent. increase in the pay of ancillary workers in view of the statement by the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing that nurses no longer require a differential settlement compared with ancillary workers.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeNo. The Government have taken a final decision on the total resources available for NHS pay. Additional resources have been made available to enable the management side of the Ancillary Staffs Council to make a fair offer to increase the pay of ancillary staff by an average of 6 per cent. A transfer of resources from the Nurses and Midwives Whitley Council to the Ancillary Staffs Council could only reduce the offer to increase the pay of nurses and midwives by an average of 7.5 per cent. I have no reason to believe that the reduction of the differential offer by this or any other method is the policy of the Royal College of Nursing. In any event, it is not the policy of the Government.