§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the salary is of(a) health visitors and (b) midwives; by how much this has changed since 1997; and what plans he has to increase this further. [109122]
§ Mr. HuttonNursing, midwifery and health visiting staff directly employed in the National Health Service have their pay determined by an independent pay review body. The Government has accepted in full and implemented the recommendations on pay for the last four years.
Midwives and health visitors are currently paid in accordance with the nationally agreed clinical grading structure. Newly qualified midwives enter at scale E with a 2002–03 salary range of £17,105 to £23,690. The minimum for health visitors is scale G with a 2002–03 salary range of £22,385 to £26,340. Full details of the current salary scales are contained in Advance Letter (NM) 1/2002. Copies are available in the Library.
Pay has increased across the board for all midwives and health visitors directly employed in the NHS in England by at least 26 per cent in cash terms since 1997.
A proposed agreement on pay modernisation for NHS non medical staff, Agenda for Change, was published on 3 March. NHS staff organisations are currently consulting their members on the proposed agreement.
The information in this answer relates to England only. Pay for midwives and health visitors in Scotland and Wales is a matter for the devolved administrations. Whilst the institutions in Northern Ireland are dissolved, responsibility rests with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office.