Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dan Poulter and Mary Glindon

Tuesday 15th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Dr Daniel Poulter)]

My hon. Friend and I have previously discussed this matter, and she is right to highlight that there are particular challenges to address in rural areas, in terms of both distances to travel and an ageing population requiring considerable health care resources. That will of course be a matter for the NHS Commissioning Board to examine when it considers future funding allocations.

[Mrs Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)]

T6. As one in three women who get cancer are over the age of 70, can the Minister say when the newly launched Be Clear on Cancer campaign will be rolled out nationally?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dan Poulter and Mary Glindon

Tuesday 23rd October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)]

3. What his policy is on upholding national pay arrangements in the NHS.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Dr Daniel Poulter)]

NHS trusts and foundation trusts have the freedom to determine the terms and conditions of the staff they employ. As the hon. Lady will be aware, the “Agenda for Change” was negotiated and brought in during 2004 by the then Secretary of State, John Reid, to agree a national framework for pay in the NHS. In general, most trusts support the agreed pay framework and the “Agenda for Change”, and they are likely to continue to use national terms, provided they remain affordable and fit for purpose.

[Mrs Glindon]

In fairness, a truly national health service demands a national pay scheme, and the British Medical Association has warned that the move to regional pay undermines the ethos of “national” in our national health service. How does the Minister intend to act on that warning?

[Dr Poulter]

I remind the hon. Lady that it was the previous Government who set up the current national pay framework in 2004, and that framework has been amended 20 times to support employers over that period. The previous Government gave foundation trusts the freedom to amend those pay terms and conditions. Regional pay does exist in the NHS. On the basis of what she has said, does the hon. Lady wish to remove the London weighting for those workers who live in London? I am sure she would not want to do that because we recognise that it is more expensive to live in certain parts of the country, and workers should be rewarded for that.