§ Mr. Pavittasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in the Official Report the 283W administrative duties undertaken by nursing staff in hospital wards which are at present performed by ward sisters, staff nurses and other grades.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe information requested is not available centrally. It is for health authorities to determine the content of individual nursing posts and practices will vary according to the needs of the service.
§ Mr. Pavittasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now seek the assistance of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service arbitration machinery to mediate between the nurses and staff side and management on the National Health Service Whitley Council.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeNo. The management side of the Nurses and Midwives Whitley Council turned down the staff side's request for arbitration on the grounds that its offer was realistic given the resources available to the NHS.
1978 1979 1980 Number Whole-time equivalents Number Whole-time equivalents Number Whole-time equivalents Student nurses 52,045 51,992 51,993 51,867 51,179 51,127 Pupil nurses 19,362 19,213 19,340 19,229 20,356 20,265 Total trainee nurses 71,407 71,205 71,333 71,096 71,535 71,392
§ Mr. Rhodes Jamesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what progress he has made in his consideration of making new arrangements for determining nurses' salaries in the Whitley council; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeMy right hon. Friend and I met representatives of both sides of the Nurses and Midwives Whitley Council on 17 March to discuss the development of new, permanent arrangements for nurses pay. At that meeting I was asked by my right hon. Friend to chair a small working group on which both sides of the Whitley council will be represented and which will now develop more detailed proposals. We were anxious to make progress on this difficult issue as quickly as possible and I hope that the working group will come together for its first meeting in the very near future.
1978 1979 1980 Number Whole-time equivalents‡ Number Whole-time equivalents‡ Number Whole-time equivalents‡ Staff nurses 54,387 40,079 55,292 40,239 58,248 43,112 Enrolled nurses 56,729 48,135 58,778 49,418 61,387 52,009 Trainee nurses* 71,407 71,205 71,333 71,096 71,535 71,392 Total† 182,523 159,420 185,403 160,753 191,170 166,513 Notes: *Nurses in training for admission to the various parts of the register and the roll. †The slight discrepancy between the total figures shown and those in the individual categories is due to rounding. ‡Whole-time equivalents. Information on costs of their salaries and allowances as a percentage of the total NHS budget is not available for
284W
§ Mr. Rhodes Jamesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the salary and allowances differential between a student nurse and a qualified junior nurse.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe estimated differentials between the average earnings of student nurses in their final year and newly-qualified State registered nurses, and between the average earnings of pupil nurses in their final year and newly-qualified State enrolled nurses, are currently £1,226 per annum and £522 per annum respectively. Average earnings for these grades include payments in addition to basic pay for working overtime and at unsocial hours.
§ Mr. Rhodes Jamesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the numbers of student nurses currently training in the National Health Service compared with figures for 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1981.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe total number of student and pupil nurses in training for admission to the various parts of the register and roll in the NHS in England for the years ended 30 September 1978, 1979 and 1980, the latest firm figures available, were as follows:
§ Mr. Rhodes Jamesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish the numbers of student and junior nurses employed in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, and at the current time in the National Health Service, and the total cost of their salaries and allowances as a percentage of the total National Health Service budget.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeJunior nurse is not a recognised grade of nurse and cannot therefore be identified.
Information as to the number of staff nurses and enrolled nurses who are on the minimum point of their pay scale—who might be considered as junior nurses—is not available centrally. The number of trainee nurses, staff nurses and enrolled nurses employed in NHS hospitals in England for the years ended 30 September 1978, 1979 and 1980, the latest firm figures available, were as follows:
1978 and 1979 the figure for 1980 is 6.63 per cent., based on estimated average basic pay plus average enhancement for the grades concerned.