I am pleased to see some of my west country colleagues here and to see the Minister in her place.
In May, the BBC asked the Deputy Prime Minister about regional pay, and he could not have been clearer:
“There is going to be no regional pay system. That is not going to happen.”
Yet, as we speak, plans are under way at 20 of our biggest hospitals and mental health trusts in south-west England to introduce just such a regional pay system. The organisations involved include the main hospitals in Exeter, Plymouth, Truro, Taunton, Yeovil, Poole, Bath, Bournemouth, Bristol, Gloucester and Salisbury. In total, more than 88,000 NHS staff in the south-west are affected.
Early this summer, the trusts announced their intention to form a pay cartel and to move away from the national pay negotiating process known as Agenda for Change. They committed £10,000 each to spend on business consultants to help them draw up their plans; they employed lawyers; and they set up a website. Based on the initial proposals, the trade unions, royal colleges and other organisations representing staff estimate that nurses and other NHS staff in the south-west could face a 15% pay cut, as well as changes to their holiday and other entitlements. The cartel has threatened to sack and re-employ staff to force through its plans.
I have to tell the Minister that, in my more than 17 years in this place, I have never received as many letters and e-mails expressing such anger and dismay as I have on this issue. Here is a taste of just some of them. A senior nurse in Exeter wrote to me, saying:
“My staff are at breaking point. I predict a mass exodus and patients will not receive safe high quality care.”
Another constituent wrote:
“Myself and my care workers are sick with worry over this and how I will be able to look after my family.”
Another wrote:
“I am the sole provider for a family of six and do two other jobs on top to cope. This will be the final straw.”