Tag: letter

‘Boris, We Need To Talk’: FM urges action to address cost of living crisis

Sturgeon calls for emergency meeting

The First Minister has sought an emergency meeting of the Prime Minister and Heads of devolved Government Council to agree steps to help people in need as a result of the cost of living crisis.

In a letter to the Prime Minister urging the suggested September meeting be brought forward due to a “fast deteriorating” situation the First Minister made her view clear that “many people across the UK simply cannot afford to wait until September for further action to be taken”.

The meeting between leaders of the devolved governments and the UK Government would provide an opportunity to agree actions that can be taken now and formulate a plan of action for the long term. 

The Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGoRR) will convene this week to discuss what steps can be taken to urgently ease the burden on households across Scotland, both now and in the future.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “While we will continue to take all actions available to us within devolved responsibilities and budgets – the Scottish Government is investing almost £3 billion this year in a range of measures which will help address the cost of living pressures – it is a statement of fact that many of the levers which would make the biggest difference lie with the UK Government.

“It is also the case that only the UK Government can access and make available resources on the scale required. Therefore, actions by devolved governments alone – though important  – will not be enough to meet the unprecedented challenges we face.  

“Action is needed now to address significant gaps in help for households, in particular those on low incomes, who are increasingly vulnerable to the impact of rising household costs.

“However, it is also vital, given further increases to energy bills due to be announced later this month, that a substantial plan be developed now to avert and mitigate what will otherwise be a crisis of unprecedented proportions – a crisis in which many people will be unable to feed themselves and their families or heat their homes.   

“While few will escape some impact of the cost of living crisis, these impacts are not being experienced evenly. That is why the focus must be on providing targeted support to those most adversely impacted, rather than an irresponsible reduction in broad-based taxes which will benefit the relatively better off over those most in need.

“The current crisis requires clear, focused and determined leadership and co-operation to develop and deliver – at pace – a package of interventions to protect those most impacted.”

The First Minister’s letter to the Prime Minister can be read in full online. 

Campaigners’ plea on eve of elections: KEEP our Eye Pavilion!

A grassroots campaigning group determined to ensure a new facility to replace the ageing Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion is built in Edinburgh has pressed politicians to reaffirm their support.

The Keep Edinburgh Eye Pavilion (KEEP) has this week written to all the main Scottish political parties to ask that candidates for the local authority elections this Thursday within Lothian uphold pledges previously made.

In their letter, KEEP says: ‘Across the Lothians, people with sight loss are becoming increasingly concerned about the ongoing delays to the promised replacement Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion (PAEP) in Edinburgh. Recent press reports now indicate that further delays and increasing costs, mean that the new hospital will not be operational until June 2027‘.

KEEP points out that the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion provides specialist ophthalmological care for thousands of people across the south-east of Scotland. In 2015, the building was deemed not fit for purpose in a NHS Lothian report that made the case for a new facility.

But in late 2020, the Scottish Government withdrew capital funding from the health board earmarked to re-build it. However, following a campaign by KEEP it was announced in spring 2021 that the re-build would go ahead. 

‘However,’ the letter from KEEP goes on, ‘there are growing concerns that the continued delays are not simply a construction matter. The existing PAEP building has been deemed not fit for purpose and is facing further reduced capacity through disrepair, resulting in waiting times and pressures on services becoming more acute.

‘It is not acceptable that blind and partially sighted people are increasingly being asked to travel across the country to the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank to receive treatment. Patients frequently face lengthy delays if unable to travel there independently‘.

During last year’s Scottish Parliament elections, KEEP secured commitments from all the main parties concerning the proposed new eye clinic facility.

Edinburgh city councillors also agreed a cross-party composite motion which said: “In terms of accessibility and equality of services it is vital that people have access that is affordable and is easy. As those of us who have had any trouble with our eyesight know, there is no time to spare. You need to get to that hospital quickly and efficiently. We have a centre of excellence that is world-renowned and we, as a capital city for people living in the south east of Scotland, depend on this facility. We need to stand up for Edinburgh.”

In their letter to each party’s health spokesperson, KEEP is asking councillors elected across the Lothian Health Board area to uphold pledges already made ‘and further work to ensure that the delays are reduced, that a clear timetable is given for when this project will start and be completed, and a guarantee to meet with members of the KEEP campaign to regularly discuss once they are elected‘.

Kate Forbes: Urgent action needed to tackle cost of living

Scotland’s Finance Secretary writes to Treasury ahead of Spring Statement

People and businesses need urgent UK Government support to mitigate the rising cost of living, says Finance Secretary Kate Forbes.

In a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak ahead of the Spring Statement, Ms Forbes called on UK Ministers to match the 6% uprate on social security benefits which the Scottish Government is delivering on eight of the benefits it delivers, and for further payments to be made to low income households through the Cold Weather Payment

The letter to the UK Government also calls for:

  • more targeted funding to business sectors directly affected by the conflict in Ukraine
  • relief to business on National Insurance Contributions
  • the removal of VAT from energy efficient and zero emission heat equipment and products
  • greater powers for the Scottish Government to work with employers to implement flexible working
  • full replacement of EU funding lost to Scotland as a result of Brexit, as promised by the UK Government

The Scottish Government ‘stands ready’ to work with the UK Government, which holds the powers to tackle the most pressing issues, to put a package of support in place.

Ms Forbes said: “In Scotland we are doing all we can to ensure people, communities and businesses are given as much support as possible to deal with the rising cost of living and the potential economic implications of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

“However, many of the powers required to really tackle these issues are reserved to the UK Government, which is why I am calling on the Chancellor to take much needed action in his Spring Statement.

“The Scottish Government is uprating eight Scottish benefits by 6% from 1 April as well as doubling our Scottish Child Payment from £10 per week per eligible child to £20. We are using our powers to help those who need us most in these difficult times and it is time for the UK Government to follow our lead and uprate social security benefits by 6%.

“I would also ask for further immediate support to be delivered through the Cold Weather Payment, with an additional payment now and another next winter when we know energy bills will have risen again.”

Read the letter in full here.

CabSeclettertoChancellor-prespringstatement22Download

Supporting Ukrainian refugees: Sturgeon outlines Scotland’s ‘super-sponsor’ proposal

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has outlined the Scottish Government’s commitment to maximise its contribution to the UK Government’s community sponsorship scheme, whilst emphasising it must provide more clarity on how the scheme will work. 

It is expected that Ukrainians will be able to apply to come to the UK if they have been matched with a ‘sponsor’ who will provide accommodation. 

In a joint letter to Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, the First Minister and First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford have proposed that the Scottish and Welsh Governments act as ‘super sponsors’. 

This would enable Ukrainians to get clearance to come to Scotland or Wales quickly and be accommodated temporarily, while the Scottish and Welsh governments then work with local partners to provide longer term accommodation (including where appropriate with private individuals who have volunteered rooms), safeguarding and access to services.

The letter makes clear that no cap will be set by Scotland and Wales on the numbers of refugees they will welcome. 

As an immediate commitment Scotland has offered to support 3,000 refugees in the initial wave, in line with the numbers that were resettled under the Syrian scheme. Overall, the Scottish Government is committed to welcoming at least a proportionate share of the total number who come to the UK. The letter says it is essential all arrivals have access to public funds including welfare benefits, and are exempted from the Habitual Residence Test for accessing these.

In addition, the First Ministers’ letter calls for urgent clarity on funding arrangements to support local government and suggests a per head funding arrangement similar to the Syrian and Afghanistan schemes to support resettlement and integration costs. 

While committed to doing everything possible to make the UK government’s proposed scheme a success, the First Ministers also renewed their call on the UK Government to waive all visa requirements for Ukrainian nationals.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I want Scotland to play our full part in welcoming Ukrainians seeking sanctuary from war. The UK response so far has been beset with bureaucracy and red tape, when what is needed is humanity and urgent refuge for as many as possible. 

“We are still awaiting full details of the proposed community sponsorship scheme. If the UK government is still unwilling to waive visa requirements, it is essential that this scheme works efficiently and effectively and allows people to come to the UK as quickly as possible. 

“However, I am very worried that if people have to be matched with an individual sponsor before even being allowed entry to the UK, it will prove slow and cumbersome.

“That is why the First Minister of Wales and I have made the ‘super sponsor’ proposal. We are proposing that our governments act as initial ‘super sponsors’ to allow large numbers to come to our respective nations quickly.

“Once they are here, and accommodated temporarily, we will then work with local partners to match people with longer term accommodation, including from members of the public who are volunteering rooms, and put in place safeguarding and support services – but while we do all of this, people will be safely here.

“I have committed to supporting 3,000 Ukrainians coming to Scotland in the immediate wave – and at least a proportionate share of those who come to the UK overall. 

“I hope the UK government agrees to this proposal so that we can get  on with welcoming Ukrainians to Scotland as soon as possible.”

The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities,

Further to our conversation this morning where you and Richard Harrington set out the UK Government’s plans for a humanitarian sponsorship scheme, the Scottish and Welsh Governments committed to set out an offer on how we would like to support this initiative in Scotland and Wales. This offer is based on a desire to see our respective countries given maximum flexibility and therefore able to take maximum responsibility to work with partners in the public, private and third sectors to support refugees arriving from Ukraine.

However, we want to repeat again that it is neither reasonable nor morally acceptable to expect people fleeing war to go through complex bureaucratic processes in order to reach safety within the UK. The UK Government should be following the example of European countries including the Republic of Ireland by waiving all visa requirements for any Ukrainian nationals seeking refuge in the UK, as well as implementing the temporary protection regulations. This proposal should therefore be taken in this context – the Scottish and Welsh Governments do not think the humanitarian sponsorship scheme goes far enough and raises some serious questions which have not yet been answered.

We propose that the Scottish and Welsh Governments act as the overall sponsor for the scheme in Scotland and Wales. The phrase used on our call was “super sponsor”. In this context a fair and proportionate number of refugees would be allocated to Scotland and Wales and the Scottish and Welsh Governments, working with their partners, would take forward the provision of accommodation, safeguarding and access to services as they have done successfully to support refugees in the past. On this point, we welcomed Richard Harrington’s positive reflections this morning about the very good and collaborative work done by the UK and Devolved Administrations on previous refugee resettlement schemes.

For this to work, it is imperative that our Governments have full access to data on Scottish and Welsh offers of accommodation in your proposed digital portal and we will then assume responsibility for matching refugees to accommodation, including public sector, private sector and voluntary sector accommodation.

We would like to understand more about the intended process for due diligence and checks and can see, for example, the value in collaborative approaches to the Disclosure and Barring Service in England and Wales to ensure an expedited route for enhanced DBS checks is possible.

It is equally essential that all arrivals have access to Public Funds, arrivals are exempted from the Habitual Residence Test for accessing Universal Credit, and a per head tariff (similar to the Afghan / Syrian schemes) is provided to the Welsh and Scottish Governments for the provision of integration support.

You asked us to provide an initial estimate of capacity. You will appreciate that it is very hard to give that without any of the aforementioned work being done on sourcing accommodation and matching individuals. Nevertheless it would seem reasonable that as a first wave Scotland should plan to support an equivalent number of Ukraine refugees as were resettled under the Syrian scheme, so 3000; and in Wales 1000 refugees would be welcomed in this initial tranche. We would build capacity from there for each country to take its fair and proportionate share of the total number of refugees entering the UK.

There are significant risks around the suitability and scalability of the sponsorship model as you have described it and our shared view is that there is considerable work still to be done on safeguarding and matching. We are confident we can deliver a comprehensive offer in Scotland and in Wales which incorporates contributions from private citizens and the third sector but draws in the capacity of the wider public service and their experience of large scale resettlement in the past.

Local Authorities can and must play a vital role in supporting refugees seeking sanctuary in our communities both in the provision of accommodation and in access to services and this needs to be properly funded by the UK Government. We need urgent clarity on the funding position as soon as possible as we are currently supporting capacity building for this work at risk.

We are absolutely committed to playing our full part in responding to this crisis and are seeking the maximum flexibility to develop clear plans, based on evolving what has worked in the past. The Scottish and Welsh Governments, working with local authorities and other partners, are best placed to deliver and to ensure the arrangements put in place are safe, sustainable and offer true sanctuary to those fleeing war. As we indicated this morning, our support for this scheme is predicated on reaching agreement on this point.

Yours sincerely

Nicola Sturgeon

Mark Drakeford

Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove will announce the UK Government’s plans at Westminster tomorrow.

Call for immediate action to resettle Ukraine refugees

First Minister urges Prime Minister to act with humanity and compassion

A lack of clarity from the UK Government around settlement programmes and complex visa processes is delaying Scotland from welcoming refugees from Ukraine, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.

In a letter to the Prime Minister co-signed by the leaders of Scottish Labour, the Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Greens, the First Minister urged the UK Government to waive visa requirements for Ukrainian nationals seeking refuge in the UK, and for a comprehensive and funded settlement programme and package of support to be established.

The Scottish Government is working with local authorities and the Scottish Refugee Council to ensure Scotland can welcome Ukrainian refugees with the support they need as soon as they are able to come here.

The First Minister said: “As we witness the worst humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II, and with more than two million Ukrainians now having fled since the Russian invasion began, the UK must take action and respond fully, with humanity and compassion.

“It is neither reasonable nor morally acceptable to expect people fleeing war to go through complex bureaucratic processes in order to reach safety within the UK. We must provide sanctuary first and treat people with respect and humanity.

“Scotland stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and deeply wishes to provide them with practical support, aid and refuge. We are ready to provide that to people in need right now.

“More than a week after it was announced on 1 March, we urge you to set out the details of the humanitarian sponsorship pathway, including when it will open and confirmation that the UK Government will provide the flexibility and the financial support needed to allow us in Scotland and communities across the UK to contribute.”

The letter in full: Ukraine refugee resettlement: letter to Prime Minister – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

As we witness the worst humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II, and with more than two million Ukrainians now having fled since the Russian invasion began, the UK must take action and respond fully, with humanity and compassion. The desperation of those fleeing and displaced by the war in Ukraine are clearly distressing and heart-rending. We cannot and must not turn our back on the people of Ukraine.

The Home Secretary’s announcement today, detailing the introduction of an entirely online application processes for Ukrainian family members seeking to come to the UK without the requirement to attend a Visa Application Centre, is a welcome step in the right direction. As is the decision to further extend the Ukrainian Family Visa Scheme. It is clear though that it is not enough.

It is neither reasonable nor morally acceptable to expect people fleeing war to go through complex bureaucratic processes in order to reach safety within the UK. Therefore we urge you to follow the example of European countries including the Republic of Ireland by waiving all visa requirements for any Ukrainian nationals seeking refuge in the UK, as well as implementing the temporary protection regulations. We must provide sanctuary first and treat people with respect and humanity.

Scotland stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and deeply wishes to provide them with practical support, aid and refuge. We are ready to provide that to people in need right now.

The Scottish Government is already working with local authorities and the Scottish Refugee Council to make sure that our communities are ready to welcome Ukrainian refugees as soon as they are able to come here, and ensure that they have the support that they need. More than a week after it was announced on 1 March, we urge you to set out the details of the humanitarian sponsorship pathway, including when it will open and confirmation that the UK Government will provide the flexibility and the financial support needed to allow us in Scotland and communities across the UK to contribute.

As a further demonstration of this solidarity, the following leaders of Scotland’s political parties have co-signed this letter. I hope you will agree with our collective call for urgent action to be taken by the UK Government in dealing with this crisis; to allow people to enter the UK and provide a comprehensive and funded settlement programme and package of support for those seeking refugee here.

I am copying this letter to Liz Truss, Michael Gove, Priti Patel, Alister Jack and Angus Robertson.

Nicola Sturgeon

Anas Sarwar

Patrick Harvie

Lorna Slater

Alex Cole-Hamilton

Poverty organisations call for 6% increase to benefits

Prices are rising at the fastest rate in 30 years, and energy bills alone are expected to rise by 50% in April. We are all feeling the pinch but the soaring costs of essentials will hurt low income families, whose budgets are already at breaking point, most.

There has long been a profound mismatch between what those with a low income have, and what they need to get by. Policies such as the benefit cap and benefit freeze have left many struggling. Families are still reeling from the £20 cut to Universal Credit last October. And, though benefits will increase by 3.1% in April, inflation is projected to be 6% by then. This means yet another real terms cut to incomes.

The government must respond to the scale of the challenge. Immediate targeted protection to prevent serious hardship is essential, but short-term support will not be enough in the face of ongoing inflation.

The government should increase benefits by 6% in April and ensure support for housing costs increases in line with rents. All those struggling, including families affected by the benefit cap, must feel the impact.

Much more is needed for levels of support to reflect what people need to get by. But, in taking these first steps, the government will prevent the gap from getting wider and lay the foundation to further strengthen our social security system that protects us from poverty.

Signed by:

Alison Garnham, Chief Executive, Child Poverty Action Group

Graeme Cooke, Director of Evidence and Policy, Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Emma Revie, Chief Executive, The Trussell Trust

Imran Hussain, Director of Policy & Campaigns, Action for Children

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director, Age UK

Sarb Bajwa, Chief Executive, British Psychological Society

Joseph Howes, CEO, Buttle UK

Leigh Elliott, CEO, Children North East

Laurence Guinness, Chief Executive, The Childhood Trust

Paula Stringer, CEO, Christians Against Poverty (CAP)

Niall Cooper, Director, Church Action on Poverty

James Plunkett, Executive Director of Advice & Advocacy, Citizens Advice

Derek Mitchell, Chief Executive, Citizens Advice Scotland

Dr Ruth Patrick, Principal Investigator, Covid Realities research programme

The Disability Benefits Consortium

Anna Feuchtwang, Chair, End Child Poverty Coalition

Victoria Benson, CEO, Gingerbread

Graham Whitham, Chief Executive Officer, Greater Manchester Poverty Action

Sabine Goodwin, Coordinator, Independent Food Aid Network

Jess McQuail, Director, Just Fair

Sophie Corlett, Director of External Relations, Mind

Nick Moberly, CEO, MS Society

Jane Streather, Chair, North East Child Poverty Commission

Satwat Rehman, CEO, One Parent Families Scotland

Dr Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, Chief Executive, Oxfam GB

Peter Kelly, Director, The Poverty Alliance

Dan Paskins, Director of UK Impact, Save the Children UK

James Taylor, Executive Director of Strategy, Impact & Social Change, Scope

Thomas Lawson, Chief Executive, Turn2us

Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, Director, The Women’s Budget Group

Katherine Hill, Strategic Project Manager, 4in10 London’s Child Poverty Network

Parents and carers urged to ensure 2 – 5 year olds are vaccinated against flu

Parents and carers of children aged 2-5 are being urged to get their child immunised against flu, particularly as immunity levels may be lower this year. 

Appointment letters are now arriving inviting parents and carers of 2 to 5-year-olds forward for the free flu nasal spray. The spray is a quick and painless way of delivering the flu vaccine to children and won’t give the child flu. 

The letters will include details on where and when the vaccine will be given.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nicola Steedman, said: “Flu can be serious, even for healthy children and young people. That’s why we’re immunising all children aged 2 up to secondary school pupils in S6 against flu this year.

“With public health restrictions in place last year, everybody, including young children were not exposed to the flu virus and are likely to have lower immunity to flu than in previous years. I’d urge all parents and carers to take up the offer of getting the free flu vaccine for their child this year and help stop the spread of flu. The vaccine is safe and offers the best protection we have against flu.”

For more information about the flu vaccine, visit www.nhsinfrom.scot/childflu, call 0800 030 8013, or speak to a health or immunisation team, practice nurse, or GP.

If you have to reschedule your appointment, you can find information on doing this in your child’s vaccination letter. 

Covid recovery: Scottish and Welsh FMs urge Boris Johnson to ensure “meaningful” summit

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her Welsh counterpart Mark Drakeford have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling for greater clarity and substance around a proposed four-nations Covid recovery summit currently scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday).  

The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Prime Minister,  

We are writing about the proposed 4-nations summit on Covid recovery, which you have suggested should take place this Thursday afternoon. 

We are both deeply committed to taking part in such a summit and to working appropriately together on Covid Recovery – but, as we are sure you do, we want the meeting to be a meaningful discussion with substantive outcomes, and not just a PR exercise.

Our view is that this will be best achieved if further detailed preparation is done in advance.

In particular, we would propose early discussion to reach agreement on the following –

  1. A detailed agenda. Your office sent a very rough proposed agenda only yesterday morning and our view is that further work is needed to agree key issues for discussion and any supporting papers to be prepared;
  2. What outcomes/further process we are seeking to achieve as a result of the summit discussion.

Further discussion between our officials – leading to the summit taking place on an agreed date, perhaps as early as next week – would allow for a much more meaningful exercise, and avoid the risk of it being just a PR or box-ticking exercise.  We are sure that is what we all want. 

We are copying this letter to Arlene Foster and Michelle O’Neill.

Children’s Commissioners appeal to UK Government to end ‘discriminatory’ two-child limit on benefits

poverty family JRF

The Children’s Commissioners of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have today published a letter they have sent to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions calling for an end to the two-child limit on Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit. 

In the letter, the Commissioners state that the policy, which disallows benefits payments to the third and subsequent children born after April 2017 in most circumstances, is ‘a clear breach of children’s human rights’ that “is inconsistent with the commitments made by the UK through the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

The UK Parliament’s Work and Pensions Committee will today hear evidence from Bruce Adamson, Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland who will present the collective views of the Commissioners in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, that the efforts of their devolved governments to tackle child poverty are being restricted by UK benefits rules. 

He will talk about the impact of current welfare benefits on child poverty in Scotland and explain that even before Covid-19, poverty represented the greatest human rights issues facing children.  

Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland,  Bruce Adamson, said: “With more than a quarter of a million children affected, poverty is the most significant human rights issue facing children in Scotland. Living in poverty affects every aspect of a child’s life, including their educational attainment and mental and physical health.  

“The UK’s approach to poverty was examined in 2019 by the United Nations’ top expert on poverty and human rights who highlighted that it is political decisions by government that are leading to disastrous levels of poverty.

“When Professor Alston came to Scotland to meet with children and their families he heard from them about the serious impact that poverty is having on their human rights. Now after over a year of the Covid-19 pandemic, the situation for children in Scotland has become much worse.” 

The open letter from the Commissioners to the Right Honourable Thérèse Coffey, MP states that the two-child limit breaches children’s rights to an adequate standard of living and is contributing to a rising gap in poverty levels between families with three or more children and smaller households.

The Commissioners note that the policy also has disproportionate impacts on social groups where larger families are more common, such as some minority faith and ethnic groups and in Northern Ireland where families are larger than the rest of the UK. 

Bruce Adamson added: “The Scottish Government has taken some action to reduce the number of children in poverty including rolling out the Scottish Child Payment during the pandemic, however I remain concerned that children’s rights are continuing to be breached in Scotland by the two-child limit on child tax credit and universal credit. That is why we have taken the step of writing to the UK Government to urge that this policy is reversed. 

“We will continue to hold our devolved governments to account in relation to their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil children’s rights, but these governments can only go so far in their efforts to ensure children and their families get the support they are entitled to while this discriminatory policy also remains in force at a UK level.” 

The Commissioners conclude their letter by stating that the ‘levelling up’ agenda signalled in the Queen’s Speech earlier this month must start by discontinuing the two-child policy: ‘With the focus in the Queen’s speech in May 2021 on ‘levelling up’, there can be no excuse for continuing to breach children’s rights through this discriminatory policy that will continue to harm and prevent children and families from moving beyond the impact of the global pandemic.’

Letter-from-CCommissioners-to-TCoffeyDownload

 

Nurses will earn £2,500 less in real terms than in 2010

  • New 1% NHS pay offer is “a real terms pay cut” and “hammer blow to morale”, says union body
  • All key workers deserve a decent pay rise, says TUC

The TUC has released new analysis which shows how major groups of NHS workers will be much worse off in real terms in 2021-22 than in 2010.

The analysis shows that following the government’s decision to offer NHS staff a pay rise of just 1% in 2021-22, nurses’ pay will be down as much as £2,500 in real terms compared to a decade ago.

The picture is bleak for many other NHS staff too:

  • Porters’ pay will be down by up to £850
  • Maternity care assistants’ pay will be down by up to £2,100
  • Paramedics’ pay will be down by up to £3,330

Real terms pay loss since 2010

OccupationPay 2010Pay 2010 in 20-21 prices  (CPI)Agenda for change 2020-21 payPay 2021-22 (1% proposed increase)Real terms pay loss 2010-2021
Porters£16,753£20,383£19,337£19,530-£852
Medical secretaries£18,577£22,602£21,142£21,353-£1,249
Nursery Nurse£21,798£26,521£24,157£24,399-£2,122
Maternity Care Assistants
Speech and Language Therapy Assistants
Team coordinators
Nurses£27,534£33,500£30,615£30,921-£2,579
Community nurses
Radiographer Specialist £34,189£41,597£37,890£38,269-£3,328
Paramedic

Source: TUC analysis of NHS Agenda for Change Pay scales

The TUC analysis also reveals that NHS workers across many occupations and pay bands will suffer a real-terms pay cut in 2021-22.

For example, an experienced nurse or midwife (NHS band 5) will a face an annual real-terms pay cut of up to £153 in 2021-22 as a result of the planned 1% increase.

Unions have described the latest pay offer to NHS workers as an insult to their hard work and dedication during the pandemic.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Our brilliant NHS workers have put their lives on their line to get Britain through this pandemic.

“It’s time we cared for them the way they have cared for us.

“That means giving them the decent pay rise they deserve – not a pathetic 1% increase. After years of real-terms pay cuts the government’s latest offer is a hammer blow to staff morale.

“This boils down to political choices. Ministers have chosen to spend hundreds of millions on outsourcing our failed test and trace system and on dodgy PPE contracts. But they have chosen not to find the money to give nurses, paramedics and other NHS workers fair pay.

“Boosting pay for NHS key workers will help our local businesses and high streets recover faster – because their customers will have more cash to spend. And that will help other workers get a pay rise too.”

BACKLASH

Four major unions – the BMA, the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Midwives and UNISON – have written an open letter to the Chancellor, expressing their dismay at the 1% pay offer made to health workers.

In the letter they ask him to reconsider the recommendation, made to the NHS pay review bodies yesterday, that NHS staff receive a 1% pay rise.

The letter goes on to say: “The proposal of a 1% pay offer, not announced from the despatch box but smuggled out quietly in the days afterwards, fails the test of both honesty and fails to provide staff who have been on the very frontline of the pandemic the fair pay deal they need.

“Our members are the doctors, nurses, midwives, porters, healthcare assistants and more, already exhausted and distressed,  who are also expected to go on caring for the millions of patients on waiting lists, coping with a huge backlog of treatment as well as caring for those with COVID-19.”

The unions make clear that the Government should demonstrate that it recognises the contribution of the hundreds of thousands of workers who have literally kept the country alive for the past year and call upon the Chancellor to, “make the right choice”.

Read the full letter