Jonathan Ashworth – 2021 Comments on NHS Pay Rise

The comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 22 July 2021.

In a sleight of hand Sajid Javid is refusing to back up the £2.2 billion pay settlement with the cash needed, instead expecting overstretched hospitals to find this extra money.

The NHS is in a summer crisis with rising Covid admissions, cancer operations cancelled, emergency demand intensifying and ambulance trusts under pressure.

The NHS needs a fully funded plan to provide quality care, and bring ballooning waiting lists down. Alongside this, Ministers must provide the NHS with the extra investment required to give staff a pay rise.