The National Health Service Pay Review Body (NHS PRB) is an independent body established in 1983, whose remit is to recommend fair pay awards for all NHS staff while having regard to:
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The need to recruit, retain and motivate suitably qualified staff
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The Health Departments’ output targets for the delivery of services
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The level of funding that the government makes available to the health service
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The government’s inflation target
The NHS PRB will also take account of evidence submitted by the Government, trade unions and professional organisations and by NHS employers’ organisations.
Every year, the RCM submits annual written evidence outlining the case for appropriate increases in midwives’ pay and allowances. Our evidence is usually submitted in September, and a copy is then publicised via our website. We also contribute to joint evidence submitted by the staff side, which sets out the general arguments in favour of appropriate awards for all NHS staff.
Having received these submissions, the College and the staff side are invited to present oral evidence to the NHS PRB. The oral evidence sessions provide an opportunity to clarify and expand on arguments made in our written evidence as well as commenting on written submissions from the Health Departments and employers’ organisations. The RCM ensures that comments made reflect the realities of working in the NHS of today.
The Review Body normally sends its recommendations to the Prime Minister, the Health Secretary and the Scottish and Welsh Secretaries. The Government then announces whether it accepts the suggested increases, and whether it will fully fund Review Body awards. The RCM fully supports this independent review body process.
The recommendations technically only apply to midwives working in England, Wales and Scotland, but are customarily applied to Northern Ireland as well.
For the latest information about the RCM’s evidence to the Pay Review Body, please see our RCM latest section
