Responding to today’s reports that the government will announce a 6.5% pay rise for NHS workers over 3 years, Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, Judith Jolly, commented:

“This is a victory for the determined NHS staff members, who have fought tooth and nail and refused to accept the Tories’ mean-spirited attempt to force them to sacrifice a day’s holiday.

“Changes like these will go some of the way to addressing the worryingly low morale and poor retention rates within our national health service. However, significant additional measures must still be taken and, fundamentally, we must deliver long-term job security for workers, establishing sustainable funding by putting a penny on the pound.

“Notably absent from Jeremy Hunt’s announcement is any mention of the fate of care workers, who have worked for years tirelessly without a pay rise. Care workers are undervalued and underpaid: this must change.”