Organisation and Recruitment in Primary Care

Conference notes the establishment of new Primary Care organisations and the planned future expansion in Primary Care and Community Health facilities including, Primary Care Trusts holding approximately 75% of the NHS budget and taking on the role of directly providing services. Conference therefore agrees that organising in Primary Care Organisations and Community Health is a […]

Operating Department Practitioner Bursuries

Conference notes the Department of Health decision to introduce bursaries for ODP trainees. We believe this is a retrograde step, which adversely affects recruitment at a time of acute staff shortages and when Ministers are seeking an increase in ODP numbers. The introduction of bursaries radically cuts the incomes of students and removes their employment […]

NHS Individual Learning Accounts and Contracted Staffs Access

In recent years the government as part of its life long learning initiative introduced NHS individual learning accounts. These accounts are available to any NHS employee who does not hold a relevant professional work related qualification. The account is worth £150.00 and can be used to provide work-related learning. The learning opportunity can be provided […]

Temporary Injury Allowance for NHS Staff

Conference at a time when NHS staff suffer injury as a direct result of assault and are absent from work for some time, they often suffer financial detriment. At present Temporary Injury Allowance is paid @ 85% of average earnings based on the previous twelve months. This is a significant drop in earnings at a […]

Blame Culture within the NHS

Conference believes far too little has been done by the Department of Health and the devolved health departments to tackle the damaging deep-rooted “blame culture” within the Service. Despite the introduction of clinical governance the search for scapegoats often takes precedence over tackling the root causes of mistakes, and poor practice. This approach may actually […]

NHS and VAT

This conference believes that UNISON should campaign for NHS organisations to have parity with local authorities in recovery of VAT on new build projects. Local authorities are able to claim a full refund of VAT while the NHS is unable to recover a penny. This artificially enhances PFI contractors in relation to in-house NHS bids. […]

Developing an Organising Culture in Health

Conference notes that the challenges facing UNISON’s health sector have never been greater. Proposals for radical changes in pay are only the latest of a very long list of challenges we face – restructuring of employers, improving working lives, major changes in acute hospitals, mental health, and primary care, the involvement of the private sector, […]

National Minimum Standards for Care Homes

This Conference is disappointed to note that when announcing the National Minimum Standards for Care Homes, the Health Minister, Alan Milburn, backtracked on some of the initial promises. As a result the National Minimum Standards will now apply guidelines on factors such as room size and single occupancy to new homes only. There will be […]

Pickering Report

In July 2002, a Government appointment review by Alan Pickering, former chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds produced its report A Simpler Way to Better Pensions. This Conference believes that the proposals contained in the Pickering Report will have little impact on the current crisis and do nothing to boost employee confidence in […]

Future Structure of UNISON’s Retired Members’ Organisation

At the Retired Members’ Annual Conference 2001 delegates were informed that a final report on The Retired Members’ Organisaiton would be presented to and debated by conference 2002. To date 4 October 2002, this separate report has not been presented to delegates to the 2002 Conference. This conference therefore instructs the National Retired Members Committee […]

Retired Members’ Conference Dates

This Conference instructs the National Retired Members’ Committee to negotiate with the Conference Section for all future National Retired Members’ Conferences to be held on Wednesdays, with workshops on Tuesdays.

Registration Fee – Power of Attorney

Conference notes that many pensioners are no longer capable of running their own affairs and that power of attorney is required in most cases. Conference condemns the decision of the Lord Chancellor, taken in July 2002, to increase the fee to register a power of attorney from £50 to £220. Conference calls upon the National […]

A Simpler Way to Better Pensions

Conference notes the publication of the report by Alan Pickering published in July 2002. Conference is concerned at many of the proposals set out in this report. In particular, Conference registers its disagreement with the following: 1)Change of pension accrual rate from 1/80th to 1/100th (one per cent); 2)Change of definition of pensionable salary to […]

Pensions Service

The Government launched the new Pensions Service on 1 April 2002. Prior to that date, pensioners received face to face support and had their information processed by specialist staff based in their local benefits office. This Conference is concerned that under the new Pensions Service: 1)Pensioners will be forced to make claims or raise financially […]

Ending of Age Discrimination

This Conference notes that the Government has taken a piecemeal approach to the enactment of anti-discriminatory law in the United Kingdom. In particular, the Government does not apparently intend to address the question of age discrimination in the provision of goods and services set out in a European Directive until 2006 at the earliest. The […]