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Mr. Andrew Mitchell
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the national health service, and at which grades, he expects to earn more than £20,280 per annum following the recent pay review body report.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 5 February at column 207. Following the recent pay review body awards, it is now estimated that on 1 April 1992 at least 83,000 people working in the NHS in England, and in the same categories listed in the earlier reply, will have basic earnings greater than £20,280 per annum. An additional and substantial number in most of those categories will have gross earnings in excess of £20,280, because they receive additional payments such as
| Prescription charge £ | Date of increase | Cost at1979–80 prices £ | Index1979–80 prices |
| 0·20 | Current at 1 January 1979 | 0·20 | 100 |
| 0·45 | 16 July 1979 | 0·45 | 225 |
| 0·70 | 1 April 1980 | 0·59 | 295 |
| 1·00 | 1 December 1980 | 0·85 | 425 |
| 1·30 | 1 April 1982 | 0·94 | 470 |
| 1·40 | 1 April 1983 | 0·96 | 480 |
| 1·60 | 1 April 1984 | 1·05 | 525 |
| 2·00 | 1 April 1985 | 1·25 | 625 |
| 2·20 | 1 April 1986 | 1·32 | 660 |
| 2·40 | 1 April 1987 | 1·37 | 685 |
| 2·60 | 1 April 1988 | 1·38 | 690 |
| 2·80 | 1 April 1989 | 1·40 | 700 |
| 3·05 | 1 April 1990 | 1·40 | 700 |
| 3·40 | 1 April 1991 | 1·46 | 730 |