§ Mr. NormanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the projected cost increase in each of the next five years if all members of staff eligible for the Agenda for Change programme receive an annual increase in pay of one pay point in a pay band and successfully pass through the(a) foundation and (b) secondary gateways. [151144]
§ Mr. HuttonThe projected basic pay increases under Agenda for Change—2.5 per cent. on average by 2005–06 and 5.9 per cent. in the longer term (compared with 2002–03) in addition to annual pay uplift—assume that all staff will progress annually through pay points and pay gateways up to the maximum of their pay band. These projections also assume that the distribution of staff between the different pay points in a given pay band, taking account of joiners, leavers and annual pay progression, will remain similar to the distribution seen in current National Health Service pay bands. In other words, the additional costs do not arise from pay progression as such (which is a feature of most current NHS pay systems), but from the changes in the basic pay ranges to which NHS staff will be entitled.