Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the cost in Wales of the nurses' pay settlement in 1988–89 and in each of the next two years; and how much of the extra cost in each year is to be met from within the existing Welsh expenditure programmes.
§ Mr. Grist[holding answer 16 May 1988]: The cost in Wales of the nurses' pay settlement in 1988–89 is estimated at £40.295 million. After taking account of the allowance for pay and price inflation built into health authorities' 1988–89 allocations the additional cost to be met by district health authorities this year is estimated to be £27.41 million. Authorities will receive their full shares of the estimated cost from extra funds that we shall shortly be making available.
It is not possible at present to estimate the additional costs in future years as this will depend on the effects of the new grading structures to be introduced.