Responding to the statement by Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Steve Barclay on a pay offer for Agenda for Change unions, Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive at NHS Providers said:

"There is no fat left to trim in health and care budgets. Any pay uplift agreed between the government and unions must be funded by new money.

"Reprioritising existing budgets could drain funding from other vital areas of the NHS in the long term, putting frontline NHS services at risk of being cut or severely scaled back.

"NHS England only has funding for a 3% pay uplift. The ongoing lack of clarity over where funding is coming from for these new pay offers is deeply worrying and must be resolved as soon as possible so that trusts and NHS England can plan with certainty."