Public sector pay: What is the position in Wales?

The UK government has just announced a series of pay awards for the health service, schools, prisons, the civil service and armed forces.

It can be a bit confusing for those of us living in Wales, because devolution means some decisions on public sector pay are the responsibility of Welsh ministers in Cardiff, rather than their colleagues in London, and some are not.

Here is a quick guide to who decides what, starting with the health service.

Welsh ministers take advice from the same NHS pay review body as the other governments of the UK, but each administration makes its own decisions on what the rise should actually be.

As it happens, the Welsh Health Minister, Jeremy Miles, made the same announcement on Thursday as the UK government on pay, in line with the reviews.

That means a 4% pay increase for doctors and dentists and what has been described as an average rise of 5.4% for resident doctors, until recently known as junior doctors, based on an additional £750 top-up.

There is also a 3.6% rise for NHS staff on what are called Agenda for Change contracts, which includes nurses and midwives.

It must be said that these pay awards may be rejected by some or all of the union members concerned, meaning the possibility of strikes or other forms of industrial action in the months ahead.

The British Medical Association and Royal College of Nursing have been highly critical of what has been offered.

Education unions in England have, in general, welcomed a 4% pay rise announced for teachers.

There are, however, concerns that because the award is not "fully funded", with schools expected to make efficiencies to find some of the cash, this will mean cuts.

As education is devolved to Wales ministers in Cardiff will need to make their own decision on teachers' pay.

Crucially, Welsh ministers are committed to a "no detriment" policy on teachers' pay, meaning the offer in Wales should be at least as generous as the one for England.

The Wales pay announcement tends to come quite a bit later, as late as September last year, so it may be a while before we know what it is.

UK ministers have announced a 4% pay rise for prison officers.

Because jails are not devolved, and are the responsibility of the UK government, this salary increase applies to officers in Wales as well as England.

Like prisons, the UK armed forces are a matter for Westminster.

Therefore, a 4.5% pay rise, and 3.75% for senior military staff, applies to Wales, as it does in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

A 3.25% increase has been announced for civil servants working for the UK government, including senior ones.

This will apply to civil servants working for the UK government in Wales - for example the Wales Office and the DVLA.

Most civil servants working for the Welsh government have their pay decided by Welsh ministers, who have not made an announcement yet.

But pay for senior civil servants is not decided by Welsh ministers, meaning they will get the 3.25% announced by UK ministers.

There are also staff working for Welsh government agencies that have merged whose staff have kept the pay and conditions they had under their previous employer.

Their salaries are not decided by Welsh ministers.