The recommendation was made in evidence submitted to the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) by the DHSC for the 2025 to 2026 pay round on 10 December.

A Government spokesperson said: ‘This Government inherited unprecedented challenges, with crumbling public services and a £22bn black hole in the public finances, but our Plan for Change will deliver a decade of national renewal and get the NHS back on its feet.

‘We have already delivered pay rises for over 1.5m NHS staff and ended devastating strike action by resident doctors which carried immense costs to patients, staff, and the taxpayer.

‘We started the pay-setting process in September – the earliest it's started for several years – paving the way for hard-working staff to get their pay rises earlier in 2025.'

Unison head of health Helga Pile said the recommendation was ‘not what NHS workers wanted to hear'.

‘Staff are crucial in turning around the fortunes of the NHS,' she added. ‘Improving performance is a key government pledge, but the pay rise proposed is barely above the cost of living.

‘Everyone wants to improve patient care, make the health service more efficient, bring down waiting times and end delays. But without the staff, the NHS won't get the huge helping hand it needs.'