Afternoon summary
Kemi Badenoch has told an inquiry it is “extremely disappointing” that it took the ITV drama about the Post Office scandal to get the government to accelerate compensation payments for wrongfully prosecuted branch owner-operators. Giving evidence to the Post Office Horizon inquiry in her capacity as a former business secretary, Badenoch, the new Conservative party leader, said that when she was in government she was frustrated by how slowly compensation payments were being paid. She tried to secure Treasury approval for a plan that would speed up some payments, but this was blocked by Jeremy Hunt, the then chancellor, because of the extra cost and concern that, by discarding normal safeguards, public money would be put at risk. (See 1.05pm.) The hearing was revealing for what it showed about Badenoch’s approach to bureaucracy and civil service procedure. She argued that officials were too risk averse, and that there was “far too much going round and round in circles”. (See 1.12pm.) She also said in politics it was being seen to do the right thing was as important as doing the right thing. (See 1.04pm.)
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has said that pay arrangements for NHS trust chief executives will be changed so they are linked to performance. There will be “no more rewards for failure”, he said. (See 5.24pm.)
Streeting says pay rules for NHS chiefs to be changed so they are linked to performance, with 'no more rewards for failure'
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has announced that pay arrangements for NHS trust chief executives will be changed so they are linked to performance.
Commenting on the announcement, which is due to be confirmed in a speech later this week, Streeting said:
I’m prepared to pay for the best and I will defend financial incentives to attract and keep talented people in the NHS. It’s a big organisation that should be competing with global businesses for the best talent.
But there will be no more rewards for failure. We have got to get a grip on runaway spending and make sure every penny going to the NHS benefits patient – changes will not be popular but it’s a case of reform or die.
The change will affect VSMs (very senior managers), like trust chief executives.
Explaining how pay will be linked to performance, the Department of Health and Social Care said in a news release:
In his review of the NHS, Lord Ara Darzi found the only criteria by which chief executive pay was set is the turnover of the organisation. Neither the timeliness of access, quality of care or effective running of the organisation factored into pay. NHS integrated care systems had built up deficits totalling £2bn in just the first four months of this financial year, leaving the incoming government with a financial blackhole which had to be dealt with at the budget.
A new pay framework for VSMs will therefore be published before April 2025. This will clamp down on poor performance, while rewarding senior leaders who are successfully turning their services around.
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