Teachers and junior doctors to get at least a 6% pay rise, with police getting 7%

The government has confirmed that millions of public sector workers will get pay rises of up to 7 per cent after the government accepted pay body recommendations “in full”.

Members of the police will get a 7 per cent increase, while teachers will get a 6.5 per cent boost to their pay packets.

Junior doctors will get a 6 per cent pay increase plus a bonus of £1,250 while members of the armed forces will get a 5 per cent increase plus a bonus of £1,000.

These pay increases will apply to the current fiscal year and will be backdated to April 2023.

John Glen, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, told MPs that money for the pay rises would be found through “greater efficiency and reprioritisation” within existing budgets.

He added there would be “no new borrowing or spending to fund the awards” as “new borrowing is itself inflationary”.

“More borrowing would simply add more pressure on inflation at exactly the wrong time, risking higher interest rates and higher mortgage rates. 

“Instead, the awards will be funded through a combination of the significant provision for pay that was made at the last Spending Review, greater efficiency, and reprioritization.”

Mr Glen explained in the Commons that the Department of Education would fund its pay rises by finding funding within existing budgets, while pay increases for junior doctors would be funded by increasing the immigration health surcharge to £1,035

To fund the pay increase to police, the cost of certain visas would be increased by up to 20 per cent to create more funding for border forces, allowing the Home Office to divert some money towards police officer pay.

Mr Glen continued: “We said we would accept the outcome of the public. Pay Review bodies, and that is exactly what we will do. 

“And we will do so because we are proud of our world-class public servants, and owe them a debt of gratitude for their service through the last few years, including through the pandemic.”

This story is being updated.