Award all Nursing Staff in the NHS a pay rise of 10% backdated to 1 April 2020
The Parliament petitions site records 141,772 signatures for this petition, which closed on 29 November 2020. The Government responded on 11 August 2020.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Award all Nursing Staff in the NHS a pay rise of 10% backdated to 1 April 2020
Pass this in law through Parliament
In light of their monumental effort in caring for patients during the Covid 19 outbreak
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 11 August 2020; the petitions site lists the Department of Health and Social Care as responsible. Its summary:
NHS nurses do an incredible job. The 2018 multi-year Agenda for Change deal delivered year on year pay increases for over a million staff. The salary for newly qualified nurses has risen by over 12%.
The opening 386 words of the 626-word response:
NHS staff are our greatest asset. In these most difficult of times and with ever increasing pressures on the NHS, they work incredibly hard, always putting patients first and keeping them safe whilst providing the high-quality care we all expect.
Nursing staff are already within a multi-year (2018/19 – 20/21) pay and contract reform deal. This deal was agreed in partnership with the NHS trade unions and has already delivered year on year pay increases for over one million NHS staff including raising the starting salary for a newly qualified nurse by over 12% to nearly £25,000. The deal has also shortened the amount of time it takes for a nurse to progress to the top of their band and ensured all staff have received pay increases above CPI inflation over the course of the deal.
Outside of multi-year pay deals the independent Pay Review Body process is the established mechanism for deciding pay increases for NHS staff. The process is intentionally designed to remove the potential conflicts that can often surround pay negotiations. The independent Pay Review Bodies make a number of considerations when formulating their recommendations. These include, but are not limited to, the cost of living and inflation, recruitment and retention, affordability and value for the taxpayer.
For recommendations on pay for nurses, the Government will look to the independent NHS Pay Review Body who will return to making pay recommendations for Agenda for Change staff from April 2021. NHS trade unions will of course be able to give evidence as part of the process. The Government takes the role and recommendations of Pay Review Bodies very seriously and always carefully considers the recommendations it receives.
In addition to basic pay, nursing staff can expect to receive additional premium rates of pay for working during unsocial hours, agreed overtime and for working in and around London. This can significantly increase the total take home pay a nurse receives.
The NHS employment and reward offer is about much more than pay and includes benefits that go well beyond the statutory minimum, such as a generous holiday allowance of up to 33 days and access to a much-valued pension scheme. We want to ensure that the NHS employment offer continues to attract, retain and reward staff and this offer continues to be kept under review.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 657, came from East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow.
140,936 of the signatures were from the UK and 836 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow | 657 |
| Swansea East | 627 |
| Kilmarnock and Loudoun | 623 |
| Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill | 617 |
| Paisley and Renfrewshire North | 588 |
| Motherwell and Wishaw | 569 |
| Falkirk | 566 |
| Airdrie and Shotts | 554 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 553 |
| Gower | 549 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Scotland | 21,976 |
| South East | 15,778 |
| North West | 15,006 |
| East of England | 13,455 |
| Wales | 11,633 |
| London | 10,999 |
| South West | 10,981 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 10,050 |
| West Midlands | 9,231 |
| East Midlands | 9,043 |
| North East | 5,845 |
| Northern Ireland | 2,396 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on .
The Petitions Committee's summary of the debate:
The Petitions Committee recently scheduled a debate on several petitions calling for recognition and reward of health and social care workers, so the Committee has agreed not to schedule this petition for debate.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/316307.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
956ba4db6e43ed51… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.