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Agenda for Change: NHS Pay Restraint

I beg to move,

That this House has considered e-petition 168127 relating to pay restraint for Agenda for Change NHS staff.

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Evans. At a time when the number of deeply concerning and time-consuming issues on the international political agenda is increasing, it is important that we and, most importantly, the Government do not lose focus on our domestic priorities and the challenges affecting our constituents’ day-to-day lives. The national health service is at the very top of that list, so I am pleased to introduce this debate. The way we treat our NHS staff is surely one of the most decisive factors in whether we have the functioning health service that we all need.

The petition is titled:

“Demand an end to the pay restraint imposed on agenda for change NHS staff.”

It has been signed by more than 104,000 people across the country, including 4,500 from my region, the north-east. It reads:

“Agenda for change staff including nursing, midwifery, healthcare assistants and associated healthcare professionals have suffered a pay restraint since 2010. Losing approximately 14% in real terms of their pay, staff are struggling nationwide and many have been pushed into poverty.

The impact of the pay restraint is harsh. Many are sadly leaving the professions they love. There is an NHS staff crisis. In London we lack 10,000 nurses. Yet two fifths of nurses living in the capital plan to leave as they are unable to pay their rent. Staff reporting using food banks and hardship funds is increasing. The pay restraint must end.”

The petition’s creator, Danielle Tiplady, a nurse and supporter of the Royal College of Nursing’s “Nursing Counts” campaign, said:

“Nursing staff deserve a pay award that reflects our knowledge, skill and dedication.”

She added that the interest in her petition

“is a huge achievement, but colleagues are struggling to pay bills and even turning away from the profession, and it’s time Parliament debated why.”