Correspondence

NHS Pay Review Body remit letter: 2025 to 2026

Published 30 September 2024

Applies to England

Stephen Boyle
Interim Chair, NHS Pay Review Body
Office of Manpower Economics
First floor
10 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0NB

Dear Mr Boyle,

I would firstly like to offer my thanks to the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) for their work over the past year on the 2024 to 2025 report. The government appreciates the independent, expert advice and valuable contribution that the NHSPRB makes.

I write to you now to formally commence the 2025 to 2026 pay round.

My department’s evidence will, as usual, cover the recruitment and retention context alongside pay and earnings data, as well as our workforce strategy, and the expected position following the implementation of the 2024 to 2025 pay award. It will also set out the funds available to the Department of Health and Social Care for 2025 to 2026, which will be finalised through the Spending Review and announced at the Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024. That comes against the backdrop of the challenging financial position this government has inherited, including a £22 billion pressure against the spending plans set out for departments at Spring Budget 2024. My department will continue to strive to deliver on our manifesto commitment to build an NHS fit for the future, to ensure it is equipped to efficiently deliver the vital, high quality public service we rely on, while ensuring value for money for taxpayers.

We know that public sector workers delivering our vital public services deserve timely pay awards, so, as the Chancellor said in her July Statement, the government’s intention is to announce pay awards as close to the start of the pay year of 1 April as possible for 2025 to 2026. It is unfortunate that, given the knock-on effects from the previous government’s delays to the 2024 to 2025 round, it is unlikely that workforces will receive pay increases by April, but by bringing the pay round forward this year, we can more fully reset the timeline in 2026 to 2027.

To this end, where possible I would be grateful if you can deliver recommendations to the government on the 2025 to 2026 pay award for Agenda for Change staff at the earliest point that allows you to give due consideration to the relevant evidence. To support with this, the government will publish its written evidence as soon as possible after the Spending Review is finalised and 2025 to 2026 budgets are set on 30 October 2024, including budgets relating to pay. I recognise that changing the timeline from recent years will present challenges for NHSPRB, but I am sure you also share the government’s belief in the importance of returning to more timely annual pay processes, so I hope you will understand the necessity of doing so.

As always, while your remit covers the whole of the United Kingdom, it is for each administration to make its own decisions on its approach to this year’s pay round and to communicate this to you directly.

I accepted your recommendations for 2024 to 2025 and in doing so committed to working with the NHS Staff Council to start addressing structural issues within the Agenda for Change contract. This work is ongoing and we will provide further information on this as part of our evidence submissions so that it can be considered accordingly when writing your report this year.

I would like to thank you again for your and the review body’s invaluable contribution to the pay round and look forward to receiving your 2025 to 2026 report in due course.

Yours ever,

Rt Hon Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care