HC Deb 10 February 1992 vol 203 cc348-9W
Sir Anthony Meyer

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the latest reports of the pay review bodies.

The Prime Minister

In 1992 reports of the review bodies on the pay of the doctors and dentists, the professions allied to medicine, nursing staff, midwives and health visitors, the armed forces and school teachers have been published today. Copies are available in the Vote Office. The Government are grateful to the members of the review bodies for the time and care which they have put into the preparation of the reports.

The following table shows the increases recommended by the review bodies for each group, and their cost.

Review body Pay bill increase l992–931 per cent. Range of increases per cent. Public expenditure cost £ million
Doctors and dentists (DDRB)2 6.0 5.5-8.5 3314
Nurses and allied professions (NAPRB)2 —nurses and midwives 5.8 5.6-6.0 3435
—professions allied to medicine (PAMs) 6.3 6.2-6.5 348
Armed forces (AFRB)4 5.9 5.9-7.9 274
Schoolteachers (STRB)5 7.8 7.5 765
1 Percentages by which the awards would increase the estimated 1992–93 pay bill.
2 Great Britain. Northern Ireland health service pay normally follows Great Britain but is described separately.
3 Includes cost of staff in NHS Trusts.
4 United Kingdom.
5 England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate pay regimes for school teachers.

The Government accept these recommendations and propose to pay them in full from 1 April 1992. The cost of implementing them will be met from within the public expenditure planning totals published in the autumn statement.

The Government recognise that the cost of the health service awards could not be met in full from present health service provision without adversely affecting services to patients. The Government will therefore provide an extra £149 million from the reserve for next year. The Government also accept that local education authorities would have difficulty in absorbing the full cost of the teachers' pay award, and have therefore decided to finance from the reserve an additional £60 million of grant to local authorities. The cost for the armed forces will be absorbed within the defence budget.