NHS Providers written evidence of the SSRB
3 January 2022
Quality
In 2020, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care confirmed the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) would bring NHS very senior managers (VSMs) within its broader remit offering independent advice on pay for senior staff in the UK public sector. The SSRB was first asked to provide observations on VSM pay in 2021, followed by recommendations in 2022 and it is within this context that we submit evidence to the independent review body on behalf of NHS trusts and foundation trusts.
NHS Providers is well placed to provide insight on pay issues at VSM level due to our position as the membership body for all 213 trusts in England, our independence from government, and primary focus on matters affecting trust boards, including their role as employers. The SSRB is seeking evidence in some areas we have not covered in this submission – particularly those where granular data collected only by national agencies is required – however we are pleased to provide qualitative evidence and anonymised reflections shared with us by trust leaders on VSM pay issues, supported by data from our annual remuneration survey of executive and non-executive directors at NHS trusts and foundation trusts.
NHS Providers submits written and oral evidence each year to the independent pay review processes covering Agenda for Change staff (via the NHSPRB), and doctors and dentists (via the DDRB), and we are pleased the SSRB has brought VSMs within its remit to graduate towards a similar level of independent oversight on issues concerning pay for senior leaders. During the past year we have assisted the SSRB and NHSE/I in the organisation of online events and discussions with members of the remit group and non-executive directors involved in remuneration decisions at trust level and we hope our written evidence is greeted as supplementary to this work, providing a more comprehensive representation of trust leaders views.
It is worth noting that we have discussed ways to expand the reach and impact of our annual remuneration survey with NHSE/I and would consider surveying trust leaders on additional areas of focus that fall within the SSRBs priorities for evidence collection in the future, should we determine it to be useful for our members and in discussions with the SSRB and other key stakeholders.