Decision details
NHS Agenda for Change pay award (2023/24 and 2024/25) for Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust Public Health Contracts.
Decision Maker: Director of Public Health
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: Yes
Is subject to call in?: Yes
Purpose:
Public Health commissions services from Wirral
Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust whose staff are in
receipt of the nationally agreed NHS Agenda for Change pay terms
and conditions.
In previous years pay awards for these NHS staff have been met by
NHS commissioning organisations.
In 2024-2025, funding was included in the Public Health Local
Authority allocation to enable the transfer of responsibility to
meet the recurrent impact of the nationally agreed NHS Agenda for
Change 2023/24 and 2024/2025 pay awards.
Decision:
The Director of Public Health is recommended to approve contract variations to Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust Public Health contracts contracts (Healthy Child Programme, Integrated Sexual Health Service, Community Infection Prevention and Control Service, Children and Young People Healthy Weight Programme and Risk and Resilience Service), to meet the nationally agreed NHS Agenda for Change staff pay awards for 2023-24 and 2024-25, at a total cost of £648,859 over this two year period.
Reasons for the decision:
2.1 Public Health commissions a number of services from Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, to deliver both mandated and non-mandated Public Health services. Responsibility for paying the nationally agreed NHS staff inflationary uplifts for Public Health contracts (for staff directly employed to deliver these services) has transferred to Local Authorities (Public Health budgets) from NHS Cheshire & Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB), to account for pay awards from 1st April 2023. Additional funding has been received to the value of £510,440 contributing to covering the costs, with the remainder balance of £138,419 to be funded by the Public Health ring-fenced grant.
2.2 Public Health officers will continue to formally manage these contracts and work with the provider to forecast the cost pressures related to the pay award in future years, liaising with the Department for Health and Social Care.
2.3 The Council is not contractually obliged to cover these costs but failure to take this decision and not provide the pay award to NHS staff employed on these contracts would be a reputational risk and could impact on the quality of provision of mandated Public Health services.
Alternative options considered:
2.1 The option of not passing on the funding for the nationally agreed pay award for staff was considered but not deemed to be a viable option. To not provide the pay award would be a reputational risk and could impact on the quality of provision of mandated Public Health services.
Publication date: 27/01/2025
Date of decision: 06/01/2025
Effective from: 31/01/2025
Accompanying Documents:
- NHS Agenda for Change pay award (2023/24 and 2024/25) for Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust Public Health Contracts.
PDF 88 KB
- Main Report: NHS Agenda for Change pay award (2023/24 and 2024/25) for Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust Public Health Contracts.
PDF 147 KB