July 21, 2020
Recent months have underlined what we always knew – that our public sector workers make a vital contribution to our country and are always there for us to rely on when we need them.
That’s why we’ve announced that almost 900,000 public sector workers will see above-inflation pay rises, for the third year in a row, reflecting their dedication, hard work and contribution to our country.
We will always stand squarely behind our public sector workers as they continue to keep us safe, better our communities, and look after those who need it.
This year’s pay awards reflect the enormous effort made by those in the public sector during the coronavirus outbreak.
These past months have underlined what we always knew – that our public sector workers make a vital contribution to our country and that we can rely on them when we need them.
Each award is recommended by independent pay review bodies, and this Government has accepted each headline recommended rise. They reflect the enormous effort made by those in the public sector in responding to the unprecedented challenges for the country during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Teachers will receive the largest pay rise, with salaries increasing by 3.1%. This pay award is equivalent to a £1,250 increase to average classroom teacher pay.
In the NHS, doctors and dentists will receive a pay rise of 2.8%. Meanwhile more than one million NHS workers including nurses, will continue to benefit from the three-year Agenda for Change pay deal struck separately in 2018, under which the starting salary for a new qualified nurse has increased by over 12% since 2017.
Police officers will receive a 2.5% rise in pay. Police constables will earn up to £1,002 more this year. This comes as we’ve already recruited the first 3,005 officers as part of our plans to recruit 20,000 additional officers over the next three years.
Prison officers will receive a 2.5% pay rise. This pay award will benefit 11,655 fair and sustainable prison officers, and 6,152 closed grade prison officers.
And finally, the Armed Forces will receive on average a 2% pay rise. This comes as 16,340 new recruits have joined the UK Regular Armed Forces over the last year, up 30% compared with the previous 12 months.
We are recruiting and retaining more teachers, increasing the starting salary for teachers to £30,000 by 2022-23. And since 2010, there are 12,000 more teachers working in schools across the country. We are increasing funding in our primary and secondary schools by £14 billion over the next three years, so that every child can get a good education
And we are boosting police funding by up to £1.1 billion this year, the biggest increase in a decade. That includes £150 million to fight organised crime and online child abuse, £39 million to tackle serious violence and drug dealing, and a £90 million increase for counter-terrorism policing.
We have given the NHS the funding it needs to tackle the virus, with more than £31.9 billion of support for health services. This includes over £15 billion for PPE procurement to protect frontline staff, £10 billion for our Test, Trace, Contain and Enable programme and a further £5.5 billion of spending on health services, including enhancing the NHS discharge service and delivering medicines to the vulnerable.
And we have written off over £13 billion of debt for NHS providers, freeing them up to investing in maintaining vital services. The changes will provide much needed financial support during this unprecedented viral pandemic, as well as laying secure foundations for the longer-term commitments set out last year to support the NHS.
Public sector workers make a vital contribution to our country. And these last few months have been an incredibly challenging time for many of those working in public services. That’s why we we’re continuing to support our doctors, nurses, police officers, our armed forces, and more. And thanks to this Conservative government, we can deliver on this pay rise for almost 900,000 people across Britain.
Commenting, Therese Coffey, Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions, said:
“Corbyn’s Pension Tax will see ten million savers facing a huge bill forcing them to delay their retirement for almost three and a half years.
“This is just one of the ways a Corbyn government would hammer hardworking people on top of his plans to hike up taxes by £2,400 a year, as well as the cost of his plan for unlimited immigration and the chaos of 2020 being dominated by two more referendums – one on Brexit and another on Scottish independence.
“Only Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party can get Brexit done with a deal, get parliament working again and turbocharge our economy to unleash Britain’s potential.”
Read more about how this Pension Tax will impact millions of savers (PDF)
