Yes, we must. When these professionals come into the NHS and work their socks off, for all the hours that God sends, they do not even get a decent pay rise. They have had to pay to do the job, then they pay to do the job again because we are not giving them enough money. My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The amount of funding the NHS gets falls well short of our international competitors in terms of revenue and current and capital expenditure. We spend about £3,055 per person on health; in our competitor countries, which are similar economies with similarly sized populations—such as France and Germany—the figure is £3,600. That difference, of the best part of £600 per person, is absolutely significant. We are falling further behind as the years go by.
The Government say, “Well, this year we have accepted the independent NHS pay review body’s recommendation.” I suspect that this is the first time in many years that they have accepted, championed and blown the bugle for it. Let us look at the detail and analyse it. The terms of reference include
“the need to recruit, retain and motivate suitably able and qualified staff”.
That is not happening, is it? That is nowhere to be seen. They also mention
“regional/local variations in labour markets and their effects on the recruitment and retention of staff”.
That is not working either, is it?
The terms of reference mention:
“The funds available to the Health Departments, as set out in the Government’s Departmental Expenditure Limits”.
In effect, the Government tell the pay review body what it can do, because of the amount the Department has, and then, when the body agrees with what the Government say, they say it has been an independent assessment. It is not as simple as that.
Here is another one: “the Government’s inflation target” is a factor. We all know where that is—whose fault is that? It is not the Government’s fault; it is the Bank of England’s fault.
The terms of reference mention:
“The principle of equal pay for work of equal value in the NHS”—
which was referred to earlier and is not happening. They talk about:
“The overall strategy that the NHS should place patients at the heart of all it does”—
but it is far from putting them at the heart of the service. In conclusion, staff need a pay rise and better working conditions; the only way they will get that is with a Labour Government in two years’ time.
3.23 pm