§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many employees working within the NHS earn(a) the national minimum wage, (b) between the national minimum wage and £3.80 per hour, (c) between £3.80 per hour and £4.00 per hour, (d) between £4.00 per hour and £4.20 per hour, (e) between £4.20 per hour and £4.40 per hour and (f) less than £5.00 per hour; what the number of staff in (a) to (f) represent as a percentage of total NHS staff; and if he will make a statement. [108899]
§ Mr. DenhamThe information requested is shown in the table.
617WWe are committed to eliminating the worst instances of low pay. The new national minimum wage removes the worst excesses of low pay and ensures greater decency and fairness in the workplace. The recent settlements
Number of directly employed NHS staff by hourly salary—England Rates at August 1999 Estimated rates at April 20001 All staff Staff on national payscales2 Hourly salary4 Headcount (thousand) As percentage of all staff Headcount (thousand) As percentage of all staff Headcount (thousand) As percentage of all staff <£3.603 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 £3.60 to <£3.80 9.5 1.0 5.6 0.8 5— 0.0 £3.80 to <£4.00 50.4 5.2 35.0 4.9 5— 0.0 £4.00 to <£4.20 15.4 1.6 4.9 0.7 35.9 5.1 £4.20 to <£4.40 12.4 1.3 3.1 0.4 7.6 1.1 £4.40 to <£5.00 82.8 8.6 46.5 6.5 38.3 5.4 All staff below £5 170.9 17.7 95.3 13.4 82.0 11.5 All staff at or above £4 796.6 82.3 615.8 86.60 629.1 88.46 All directly employed NHS staff 967.6 100.0 711.1 100.0 711.1 100.0 1 Figures reflect pay awards up to and including April 2000 2 Estimates of pay awards for staff on local payscales are not available 3 Staff earning less tan £3.60 per hour may do so because they are either: aged under 18, apprentices, receiving benefits in kind; or receiving only a proportion of their earnings directly from NHS trusts. No full-time adult payscales are less than £4 per hour 4 Hourly earnings will be, on average, 13 per cent,higher with allowances and overtime added 5 Indicates less than 100, but greater than zero Source:
Department of Health's August 1999 NHS Earning Survey