§ 62. Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any plans to extend the funding of the recent nurses' pay award to cover extra recruits or additional posts over and above existing staffing levels.
§ Mr. NewtonThe Government have provided the additional money required to fund in full the recent pay award. It is for health authorities to determine their nursing establishment, having regard to the total resources available.
§ 63. Mr. Jacques ArnoldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how much extra recognition the current year's nurses' pay award gives to those nurses with extra skills and responsibilities.
§ 81. Sir Fergus MontgomeryTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what increases nurses working in paediatric intensive care can expect to receive as a result of the nurses' pay award.
§ Mr. NewtonThe extent to which an individual nurse will benefit from the new pay award will depend on the duties and responsibilities of the post occupied. However, the maximum pay for a staff nurse in a post which calls for extra skills and responsibilities, for example in paediatric intensive care is now £10,650 a year—an increase of over £2,000 or 24 per cent. above the previous maximum annual salary of a staff nurse. A similar nurse working in inner London will receive an annual salary of £12,538 maximum, an increase of over £3,000 or over 31 per cent.
§ 70. Miss WiddecombeTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services by how much nurses' pay has increased since April 1979.
§ Mr. NewtonWith the recent pay award, nurses' pay has increased by 44 per cent. in real terms since April 1979.