Local Pay

HC Deb 05 May 1995 vol 259 cc322-3W

Mr. Colvin

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her estimate of the total administrative cost to NHS trusts of negotiating local pay schemes. [21677]

Mr. Malone

Information is not available centrally about local arrangements but it is expected that any additional costs for individual trusts would be more than offset by savings from increased flexibility in the use of staff. When trusts were established, infrastructure for human resources, which includes the ability to support local pay arrangements was an essential part of our investment in strengthening the finance, information technology and personnel functions throughout the national health service.

Mrs. Beckett

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many chief executives of trusts had not set up local pay machinery by February; and of those that succeeded what was the average change in personnel staff and cost to trust hospitals. [21745]

Mr. Malone

Information is not available about the local arrangements established following the letter of 6 June 1994 from the chief executive of the national health service executive asking trusts to establish local pay machinery by February 1995. When trusts were established, infrastructure for human resources, which includes the ability to support local pay arrangements was an essential part of our investment in strengthening the finance, information technology and personnel functions throughout the national health service.

Mrs. Beckett

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 24 April,Official Report, column 321, if she will list each of the trusts that have made local pay offers giving (a) the total percentage offered to staff, (b) what conditions are attached to the offer and (c) whether the offer has been accepted. [22813]

Mr. Malone

Comprehensive details of local negotiations are not available centrally. But it is understood that, by 2 May, at least 195 trusts in England had made their offers known, of which 147 are of around 3 per cent. We also understand that staff side representatives are generally unwilling to engage in negotiations.