§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the difference between the amounts paid by the Welsh Office to Welsh area health authorities to pay for agreed pay rises in 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990 and the actual costs of the pay rises.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettHealth authorities must meet the cost of pay awards from within the totality of the resources available to them. They receive a cash increase each year and may receive further funding in-year as a contribution toward the excess costs of review bodies' recommendations. These resources, together with the cash released from cost improvement programmes and income-. generation schemes, have not only been sufficient to meet the cost of pay and price rises over the period since 1987 but permitted a sustained expansion in the volume of services.
903WThe figures relating to the funding available to health authorities and the actual cost of pay awards is as follows:
Purchasing power of health authorities1 Actual cost of pay awards2 £ million £ million 1987–88 67.9 44.5 1988–89 83.8 371.2 1989–90 65.6 49.0 1990–91 80.4 56.1 1 Welsh Office and value for money unit, Welsh Health Common Services Authority. 2 Health authorities in Wales. 3 Includes the cost of the clinical regrading of nursing staff.