NHS Strikes: Five per cent pay rise offered to some staff

Just over three weeks ago the Department of Health was saying that any pay award above three and a half per cent was unaffordable.

Now they’ve offered staff in England five per cent next year, and a one-off payment of more than £1,600 to top up last year’s pay award.

But with no detail on where the extra money will come from, one think tank predicted the NHS could need a further Treasury bailout – even before the ink on the chancellor’s spending plans was dry.