The government has offered more than one million public sector workers pay rises of between 5%-7%.
The employees include consultants, dentists and GPs in England, prison officers in England and Wales, armed forces, senior civil servants, junior doctors in England and school teachers in England. They have received rises of 6%, 7%, 5% and a £1,000 consolidated increase, 5.5%, 8.8%, and 6.5%, respectively.
The 6.5% pay award for teachers, which is the highest for 30 years, will boost starting salaries to at least £30,000 across the country, representing an up to 7.1% increase. This is on top of the 5.4% pay rise in 2022/23, resulting in pay increasing by more than 12% over two years.
The government’s Education Hub said: “The government has listened to schools and head teachers and the additional funding announced today funds the full cost of the award above 3.5%, nationally. Schools will receive an additional £525 million in the 2023-24 financial year and £900 million in the 2024-25 financial year. Our strong expectation is that all schools will use these additional funds for teacher pay as is intended.
“This means the pay award is fully funded and affordable, nationally. We are reprioritising within the Department for Education’s existing budget to deliver this additional funding to schools, while protecting core budgets.”
In addition, police officers in England and Wales across all ranks will receive a 7% pay rise.
Rich Cooke, chair of the West Midlands Police Federation, said: “7% is a good award in the current climate, albeit still below the cost of living. Our focus will remain on getting a fair system of pay negotiation and arbitration for the future. That is the key to getting better pay in the long-term for police officers.”
Steve Barclay, health and social care secretary, added: “We’re giving junior doctors, consultants and senior NHS staff a fair and reasonable pay rise as recommended by the independent pay review bodies. It also balances the need to keep inflation in check, while giving some staff significant pay increases.”