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| Public sector workers: Pay rises announced for a million people | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A million public sector workers are to receive their biggest pay rise in nearly 10 years, the government says. | A million public sector workers are to receive their biggest pay rise in nearly 10 years, the government says. |
| It includes 2.9% extra this year for the armed forces, 2.75% for prison officers and 3.5% for teachers. | It includes 2.9% extra this year for the armed forces, 2.75% for prison officers and 3.5% for teachers. |
| Police will see a 2% rise, the same increase seen by junior doctors, GPs and dentists. | |
| The move confirms the scrapping of the 1% pay cap last year and follows campaigns by unions for higher wage rises. | |
| The government said the increases were affordable within its spending plans. Individual departments are having to fund the pay rises, rather than the money coming from the Treasury. | |
| 'Decade of pay cuts' | |
| Labour called for the government to "end the cruel pay cap once and for all". | |
| Peter Dowd, the party's shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: "Public sector workers have faced nearly a decade of austerity pay cuts and an onslaught on their living standards. | |
| "The government's offer fails to compensate workers for the huge losses in income they have faced under the Tories' brutal pay restraint policy." | |
| He added that "the lack of new funding for departments also means pay rises will have to come at the cost of other services". | |
| When plans to end the 1% public sector pay cap in England and Wales were announced last year, deals were only confirmed for some NHS and prison staff and police. | |
| A new pay deal for the NHS was announced in March, promising a 6.5% increase over three years. | A new pay deal for the NHS was announced in March, promising a 6.5% increase over three years. |
| Workers voted on and agreed to the deal in June, meaning 1.3 million were to see the rise in their July pay packets. | |
| The cap for police and prison officers was also lifted last September, with unions accepting rises of 1% with a 1% bonus and 1.7%, respectively, for this year. | The cap for police and prison officers was also lifted last September, with unions accepting rises of 1% with a 1% bonus and 1.7%, respectively, for this year. |
| The cost of scrapping the 1% cap is estimated at £4bn. The move was seen as a bid to boost staff recruitment and retention as well as improve morale in the public sector. | |
| The Minister of State for Children and Families, Nadhim Zahawi, said it was right for teachers to get a pay rise. | The Minister of State for Children and Families, Nadhim Zahawi, said it was right for teachers to get a pay rise. |
| "It is good news," he told BBC News. "You can't have great schools without having great teachers - and we've got to make sure they are paid properly - and ultimately we've got to find the money from budgets in government." | "It is good news," he told BBC News. "You can't have great schools without having great teachers - and we've got to make sure they are paid properly - and ultimately we've got to find the money from budgets in government." |
| Unions had been arguing for pay rises closer to 5% to make up for the austerity measures introduced by David Cameron's government eight years ago. | Unions had been arguing for pay rises closer to 5% to make up for the austerity measures introduced by David Cameron's government eight years ago. |
| The rise for members of the armed forces is 2%, falling short of the 2.9% recommended by the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body, but is being supplemented by a one-off payment of 0.9% this year. |