Mr. Ted Fletcherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the estimated annual cost of increasing the pay of student and pupil nurses by £1 per week; and what percentage increase this represents of the total wage and salary bill of the National Health Service.
§ Mr. CrossmanAbout £4.5 million for England and Wales, excluding the additional cost, which cannot readily be calculated, arising from overtime payments in psychiatric hospitals, enhanced rates for special duty payments, or any consequential increases which might be necessary in the pay of other staff on related rates of pay. The estimated cost represents 0.62 per cent. of the total wage and salary bill for the National Health Service.