Regional Pay (NHS)

The right hon. Gentleman is making a powerful case, but I am curious about one thing. There is a limited amount of money that can be spent in the national health service—the Government decided to increase it, although I seem to remember that the previous Labour Government were considering cutting it—so the choice is simple: we either go for a variation on regional pay or we make people redundant, and I am not convinced that that argument has been thought through. Would the right hon. Gentleman therefore be willing to join me in trying to convince the Government to do something about the tariff that is paid to hospitals in the south-west? We are short of money, and we need to find a way to improve that situation.