Barclay: front line services protected from pay deal costs

The revised offer was made by the government two weeks ago and unions called off further planned strike action so that the offer could be put to members. Voting on the offer got underway this week.

Mr Barclay said that the opening of the vote was a ‘hugely positive step’ after weeks of constructive talks. And he urged union members to accept the offer, which he said balanced the need to reward staff fairly with the commitment to halve inflation.

When the revised pay offer was unveiled, the government offered a ‘guarantee’ that there would be no impact on frontline services. Last year, NHS England was required to find funds from its own budgets to cover the costs of pay above the levels assumed in the health settlement. With the new 5% pay offer for next year being 1.5% higher than the 3.5% assumed in allocations, healthcare leaders have been calling for clarification that the new deal will be matched with new money. Mr Barclay this week reiterated the promise to protect services, but indicated that some funding would need to come from existing budgets.  

‘I'm working with the Treasury to ensure my department has the money it needs to fully fund this pay offer, which will include additional funding and reprioritising existing budgets,’ he said. ‘This is on top of the existing funding we have already made available for a pay increase of up to 3.5% in 2023/24. I want to be clear – there will be no impact to frontline services or quality of care as a result of this offer.’

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, welcomed the reassurance from the health secretary. ‘We are pleased to see the secretary of state reaffirm his promise that this offer will not impact on frontline services,’ he said. ‘Leaders have been clear that any pay offer must be fully funded outside of existing budgets, to avoid having a negative impact on patient care, and will be keen to see this additional funding emerge.’

But Julian Hartley, chief executive at NHS Providers raised concerns about requiring even part of the new deal costs to be funded from existing budgets. ‘There is no fat left to trim in health and care budgets. Any pay uplift agreed between the government and unions must be funded by new money,’ he said. ‘Reprioritising existing budgets could drain funding from other vital areas of the NHS in the long term, putting frontline NHS services at risk of being cut or severely scaled back..

Sir Julian added that the ‘ongoing lack of clarity’ over funding was ‘deeply worrying’ and must be resolved as soon as possible so that trusts and NHS England could plan with certainty.

Under the offered pay deal, agenda for change staff would receive a non-consolidated payment worth 2% of salary for 2022/23. This is on top of the original imposed award for 2022/23 In addition, staff will receive a one-off ‘NHS backlog bonus’, ranging from £1,250 for to £1,600 depending on pay banding. Finally, the deal also includes a 5% consolidated increase in pay for 2023/24.

Junior doctors remain in dispute with the government over pay, with further strike action planned. Mr Taylor called for the government and doctors to restart pay discussions – calling for compromise on both sides.