§ 26. Mr. John SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what settlement has been agreed for chief executives' pay in the Northern Ireland health service this year. [71223]
§ Mr. McFallIn common with national policy, my predecessor the hon. Member for Clydebank and Milngavie (Mr. Worthington) wrote to the Chairmen of Health and Personal Social Services (HPSS) bodies in April 1998 asking that all practical steps be taken to ensure that the cost of individual pay rises for Senior Executives and other Senior Managers were restricted to 2.7% within the current financial year. Employers have been asked to include a compliance statement in their annual reports for 1998–99. I have recently announced a similar limit of 2.6% for next year for Chief Executives and other executives operating at board level.