NHS pay review body: twenty-sixth report 2012 - Official Documents

Chapter 6 – A Forward Look
6.1
In this chapter, we consider briefly a range of issues raised in evidence for this report that
are relevant to our future work. These centre on the four Governments’ public sector pay
policies, flexibilities under the AfC Agreement, developments in public sector pensions,
promoting staff engagement during this period of significant change, and our data and
evidence requirements.
Remits During 2012
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
We were given advance notice of our forthcoming remits in the Chancellor’s Autumn
Statement1 on 29 November 2011. On 7 December 2011, the Chancellor wrote2 to all
Pay Review Body Chairs setting out the UK Government’s view on their critical role in the
years ahead.
The UK Government told us that: it was concerned to ensure that overall public sector
pay systems were the most appropriate for the modern labour market; there was
substantial evidence that the differential between public and private sector wages varied
considerably between local labour markets; and that there was a clear case for ensuring
that public sector pay did not distort local markets. The UK Government therefore asked
us to consider how to make pay more market-facing in local areas for NHS AfC staff
taking into account a range of factors. The Secretary of State for Health also wrote3 to the
NHSPRB Chair on 23 December 2011 setting out the remit to take into account specific
factors regarding market-facing pay for AfC staff and asking us to submit our initial
findings by 17 July 2012 so that it would be possible for these to be fed into the next pay
round.
The Chancellor also told us that the public sector pay freeze will end after 2012/13 but
that, in order to support fiscal consolidation, for each of the following two years the UK
Government will seek public sector pay awards that average 1%. We expect the Secretary
of State for Health to write to us in advance of our next pay round providing further
detail.
We will apply our independent process under our standing terms of reference to these
remits during 2012, including taking evidence from the parties. We look forward to
hearing the views of the Staff Side and individual unions who have not yet had the
opportunity to respond.
Public Sector Pay Freeze
6.6
NHS staff have experienced a series of pressures, not least the pay freeze, and, against
this background, we acknowledge the important role played by the NHS non-medical
workforce in meeting service demands during a period of significant change. Such
demands and pressures will naturally lead staff to look closely at the value of their pay
and relative pay increases for other employees across the economy. This report was
prepared under the constrained remit of the four Governments’ pay policies. We note
that the freeze has applied across the public sector workforce and, to a lesser or greater
extent, affected staff at all levels. While we note the Staff Side’s concerns about the effect
of the pay freeze particularly in comparison to inflation, the impact has been across the
public sector as a whole not just for staff in the NHS.
1 Available at: http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/autumn_statement.pdf.
2 Available at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/tax_pay_index.htm.
3 Available at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/Dearcolleagueletters/
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