Public Expenditure on Health and Personal Social Services 2009 - Health Committee Contents


6.  WORKFORCE

6.1.6  What are the costs of Agenda for Change in each year from 2006-07? Have these estimates changed, and if so, can the changes be explained? (Q75)

Answer

  1.  Costs for 2005-06 to 2007-08 are shown in table 75a, alongside projected pay bill for 2008-09 and 2009-10.

  2.  The funding envelope for Agenda for Change (AfC) agreed with HM Treasury in 2002 extended to 2007-08 and isolating costs after then is not possible as subsequent AfC funding has been part of PCT baselines.

  3.  In order to give insight into the cost of AfC it is necessary to compare expenditure across years on a like basis.

  4.  The most appropriate currency of comparison is earnings per full time equivalent. This is the before tax pay that staff receive, so by definition it strips out the technical changes such as changes to pensions contributions, and growth in workforce.

  5.  The Department is unable to extend the comparison it gave last year of earnings per full time equivalent five years before AfC and five years after to six years. This is because there was a step change in the methodology used to calculate earnings between 1996-97 and 1997-98 which means that the figures cannot be compared on a consistent basis.

  6.  The information in table 75b enables average annual growth in earnings across key periods to be calculated:

    — 1997-98 to 2002-03 (five years prior to implementation of AfC): 5.0%.

    — 2003-04 to 2008-09 (five years since implementation): 4.9%.

  7.  This suggests that pay growth would have been similar in a NHS without AfC as with it.

  8.  A pay bill projection for 2008-09 was not included last year but is now. The pay bill projection for 2009-10 has been updated using latest available pay metrics data.

Table 75a

ESTIMATED COST OF IMPLEMENTING AGENDA FOR CHANGE


  
£ million
Year
Cumulative total (1)

2005-06
950
2006-07
1,390
2007-08
1,780

Source:
NHS Pay, DH
  
Footnotes:
1.  Totals rounded to nearest £10 million.
2.  The funding envelope for Agenda for Change agreed with HM Treasury in 2002 extended to 2007-08. Subsequently, recurrent funding is part of baselines other than small adjustments for additional arrangements, for example the recently agreed unsocial hours.
3.  Estimated pay bill figures in £ million (a) 2008-09—£29,983; (b) 2009-10—£31,399. Estimated pay bill figures are projections, and are subject to change.



Table 75b

NON-MEDICAL EARNINGS PER FULL TIME EQUIVALENT (£) (1) AND GROWTH (%)



  
  
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05(2),(5)
2005-06(2)
2006-07(2)
2007-08(2),(3)
2008-09(2),(4)

Qualified nursing
  
20,830
21,042
22,329
23,427
24,733
25,702
26,342
27,697
28,784
29,861
31,106
32,763
  
Growth
  
1.0%
6.1%
4.9%
5.6%
3.9%
2.5%
5.1%
3.9%
3.7%
4.0%
5.3%
Unqualified and support (6)
  
9,318
10,430
11,451
11,609
12,256
12,899
13,394
14,563
15,528
16,531
17,669
18,611
  
Growth
  
11.9%
9.8%
1.4%
5.6%
5.3%
3.8%
8.7%
6.6%
6.5%
6.7%
5.3%
Scientific, therapeutic and technical (7)
  
18,393
19,054
20,181
21,268
22,378
23,138
24,136
25,189
26,062
27,664
28,211
29,583
  
Growth
  
3.6%
5.9%
5.4%
5.2%
3.4%
4.3%
4.4%
3.5%
6.1%
1.8%
4.9%
Administrative and clerical
  
12,143
12,715
13,327
13,795
14,588
15,376
15,665
16,738
17,745
19,076
19,959
20,930
  
Growth
  
4.7%
4.8%
3.5%
5.7%
5.4%
1.9%
6.8%
6.0%
7.5%
4.5%
4.9%
Maintenance and works
  
15,567
16,320
16,976
17,590
18,169
17,959
18,392
19,893
20,790
21,510
23,436
24,575
  
Growth
  
4.8%
4.0%
3.6%
3.3%
-1.2%
2.4%
8.2%
4.5%
3.5%
8.8%
4.9%
Ambulance staff
  
19,914
21,528
21,566
22,442
23,492
24,792
26,511
33,606
37,750
29,974
32,509
34,241
  
Growth
  
8.1%
0.2%
4.1%
4.7%
5.5%
6.9%
26.8%
12.3%
-20.6%
8.3%
5.3%
Managers
  
37,567
38,485
40,075
43,021
44,135
44,344
45,760
51,581
52,954
54,844
53,889
56,509
  
Growth
  
2.4%
4.1%
7.4%
2.6%
0.5%
3.2%
12.7%
2.7%
3.6%
-2.0%
4.9%
Other staff (8)
  
12,573
17,044
18,124
18,968
19,980
20,968
21,628
23,173
24,275
25,399
26,537
27,904
  
Growth
  
3.9%
6.3%
4.7%
5.3%
4.9%
3.1%
7.1%
4.8%
4.6%
4.3%
5.2%

Source:
Workforce, DH
  
Footnotes:
1.  Figures for NHS staff in England only and exclude agency.
2.  Includes estimates for NHS foundation trusts.
3.  2007-08 figures updated to reflect 2007-08 actual expenditure data received autumn 2008. Growth includes hangover from staging settlement in the previous year. This results in an additional 0.6% increase in earnings for the year above that due to pay uplift and drift.
4.  Figures are projections and subject to change once 2008-09 financial actuals are received.
5.  In 2004-05, responsibility for the cost of pensions indexation shifted from HM Treasury to NHS employers.
6.  Unqualified nursing, HCA and support includes ancillary staff (eg cleaners and porters).
7.  Includes AHPs, PAMs, healthcare scientists and other groups working in scientific, therapeutic and technical areas.
8.  This total includes a small number of other staff (less than 0.5% of NHSPRB workforce) who do not fit into any of the above sub-groups.





 
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