Teachers and doctors in England offered 4% pay rise

Most doctors and teachers in England have been offered a 4% pay rise, after the government accepted recommendations from pay review bodies.

The awards are higher than the 2.8% it previously budgeted for, with ministers saying most of the remainder will have to come from existing budgets.

Education unions have broadly welcomed the decision, while warning of cuts to school budgets without extra funding to cover costs.

But health unions have reacted angrily after a smaller rise of 3.6% was offered for NHS staff other than doctors, including nurses and midwives.

The health department says junior doctors, now known as resident doctors, will get an average rise of 5.4% due to a £750 top-up.

But the British Medical Association called the rise "woefully inadequate" and confirmed it plans to ballot resident doctors next week over possible strike action.

The Royal College of Nursing said it was "grotesque" that nurses had been offered a smaller rise than doctors.

The 4% headline award for doctors and dentists mirrors that offered to teachers in England, as well as prison staff.

NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts, covering most staff apart from doctors, dentists and senior managers, have been offered rises of 3.6%.

The education department has announced an additional £615m to cover the rises, but said schools would be asked to partially fund the awards through "improved productivity and smarter spending".

The National Education Union, which represents teachers, said the award was "not fully funded" and it could lead to "cuts in service provision" for many schools.

The health department said cuts to "frontline services" would not be necessary, arguing the money could be found through cutting the use of temporary staff, cutting "duplication and waste", and its plan to abolish NHS England.

Recommended awards of 3.25% for senior NHS managers and senior civil servants have also been accepted by ministers. Members of the armed forces have been offered 4.5%.

Inflation - the rate prices are increasing - has fallen in recent months, but unexpectedly rose to 3.5% in the year to April, potentially complicating how ministers sell the deals to workers.

The Bank of England has previously said it expects inflation to peak at 3.7% between July and September this year, before slowly falling.

Labour ended long-running public sector strikes last summer by accepting recommended pay rises between 4.75% and 6% for last year.

Ministers argued the move was required to stop damage to the economy - but it led to Conservative accusations they had lost control of public sector pay.