Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration 2023 to 2024: Scottish evidence

A. Introduction

1. This evidence has been prepared by the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates (SGHSCD) and we are now pleased to be able to submit this to the DDRB for their consideration.

2. Our remit letter to the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration (DDRB) from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care was submitted on 20^th December 2022. This confirms the parameters which we would wish the DDRB to work within for their 2023-24 Report and Recommendations.

3. Our approach to public sector pay has been governed in recent years by the Scottish Public Sector Pay Policy (SPSPP).

4. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy announced the Scottish budget for 2023-24 on 15 December 2022. A copy of the budget is available here. At this point, the Scottish Government has not published a Public Sector Pay Policy, in part because of the ongoing uncertainty in relation to the level of inflation throughout the UK, and in part because of the need to resolve issues surrounding pay deals in a number of public sector areas.

5. Although we have no formal pay policy, we would emphasise pay and workforce concerns must be developed with fiscal sustainability in mind, allied with the need to reform and secure the delivery of essential public services.

6. No formal Public Sector Pay Policy has yet been published by the Scottish Government. We however need to ensure that plans around pay are developed on a sustainable basis working in partnership with the relevant Trade Unions. Key to this will be ensuring that plans for 2023/24 are affordable, and deliver high levels of public service, whilst bearing in mind our commitment to no compulsory redundancies, and working towards to overall adoption of the Living Wage, (now £10.90 per hour)