You can find more information at reservation The MP faced a backlash after suggesting nurses on £35,000 a year should budget better if they use food banks.
Simon ClarkA former minister during the era of Liz TrussThis book has been called “disgustingly heartless and intangible” because of its comments about families who depend upon charity.
Simon Clarke (MP for Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland) spoke on BBC Radio Tees to say that the debate over nurses’ wages was now “farfetched”.
He said: “I’m afraid if you use a food bank and you earn an average nurse’s salary of £35,000 a year, there is something wrong with your budget, because £35,000 a year is not a salary you should depend on a food bank.”
Citing the Nursing Times as his source, he told the station that £35,000 was the average salary for a nurse and added: “My message is that everyone needs to take responsibility in their lives.
“I don’t think people making an average of £35,000 a year need to use food banks.”
The Liberal Democrats argued that two-thirds of nurses earn well below the average wage, and it would take about 10 years to reach £32,000.
Others pointed to the litany of spiraling costs facing nurses — such as mortgage payments, energy bills, student debt, transportation and child care — against the backdrop of inflation at a 40-year high to say it wouldn’t be outrageous for health care workers to need the extra help.
RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen said: “Criticism of anyone using a food bank is disgusting, heartless and dangerously out of touch.
“I’ve toured the length and breadth of this country and met nursing staff from every corner of the nation – and their fear and fear of not being able to pay their bills was palpable.
“Extremely high inflation means some nursing staff are living on a financial knife edge and even their employer, NHS trusts across the country, are being forced to open food banks to feed their staff.
“It’s not their fault — every nurse out there spends their professional and personal lives researching how they can make savings, how they can treat more patients with fewer staff, and how they can increase their ever-shrinking budget.
“Something is seriously wrong when nurses have to spend hundreds of pounds per month just to get to work, can’t feed their families, and have to cut back on shifts because they can no longer afford the ever-increasing cost of childcare.
Sarah Gorton, Unison’s head for health, stated that these comments showed no understanding of peoples’ circumstances or a lack of understanding of the amount they are paying.
He not only insulted the health workers but also missed the point. A wage increase is needed to stop workforce drain, get the NHS back on track and ensure patients get the treatment they need.”
After his comments were widely shared, Clark said: “I am very clear that we all owe a great deal of admiration to nurses for the vital work they do on our behalf.
It is important to realize, however, that a 19% increase in wages is not realistic.
“It would not fair to taxpayers and would exacerbate or prolong the inflation challenge.”
Today’s nurses are striking again. It was also announced earlier in the week that they would now be taken into custody Two more days of strikeNext month in their long-running wage dispute
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