Oral Answers to Questions

William Bain Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Norman Lamb]

I repeat the point that we are actually investing more in a transformation of children’s and adolescents’ mental health services—and it is making a real difference. People within the service can see the benefits that it is bringing.

[Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)]

12. What recent representations he has received on regional pay in the NHS.

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

I refer the hon. Gentleman to an answer I gave earlier today.

[Mr Bain]

Has the Minister had an opportunity to study the research done by the New Economics Foundation a few months ago, which reveals that fully regionalised public sector pay could strip up to £9.7 billion a year from local economies, put 110,000 jobs at risk and hit women twice as hard as men? Given that, what possible justification could this Government have for such a crazy policy?

[Dr Poulter]

Let me bring the hon. Gentleman back to planet earth for a while—[Interruption.] He should have listened to the answer I gave a little earlier about allowing for flexibility in pay frameworks. Some degree of regional pay was introduced by the previous Government in “Agenda for Change”. On principle, then, the previous Government, the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues, including the former Secretary of State, were supportive of regional pay. However, on the current negotiations and discussions, we would like to see a collaborative relationship between employers, unions and employees in the NHS at the NHS Staff Council to make sure that we maintain national pay frameworks as long as they remain fit for purpose.