“We are in the middle of considering some of the pay review bodies who have already reported back to us,” she instructed BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“Of course the Government will … consider their recommendations and respond after doing that.”
He spoke on Sunday of being ready to make unpopular short-term choices on public sector pay to make sure presents had been “affordable” and “responsible”.
Mr Sunak has set halving inflation by the tip of the yr as one in every of his prime priorities forward of a probable normal election in 2024.
But the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation remained at 8.7% in May, regardless of hopes that it could fall and supply some aid for households.
Ms Whately reiterated the Prime Minister’s name for the Government to be accountable with public funds because it considers wage will increase for public sector staff.
Pay assessment physique suggestions should not legally binding on the Government and, though they’re usually accepted, ministers can typically select to reject or partially ignore the recommendation.
But this may be a controversial transfer, after the Government defended final yr’s below-inflation pay rises by saying that they had adopted the our bodies’ recommendation.
It may additional inflame ongoing disputes with unions and result in extra industrial motion, with a looming five-day junior docs’ strike in England subsequent month an instance of one in every of many pay rows ministers are at the moment embroiled in.
Ms Whately stated she couldn’t “pre-empt” the Government’s response when requested whether or not ministers would settle for pay assessment physique suggestions of “6% plus” wage will increase for public sector staff.
“We have to look at pay in the round for the public sector. Clearly, the Government has to make responsible decisions over finances,” she instructed BBC Breakfast.
“We need to look at what we can afford as a country and we know that we have the big challenge of inflation at the moment.
“The Prime Minister’s number one priority is to bring down inflation because we know that inflation is eating away at the pound in people’s pockets, so it is really important to bring inflation down.”
Ms Whately defended the Government’s strategy as “the completely normal process that is carried out every time”, praising the pay boards as doing a “really valuable job”.
Kate Bell, assistant normal secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), stated any resolution to disregard pay assessment physique recommendation could be “driven by politics, not economics”.
She stated public sector wages had fallen “well behind inflation” and that there had been a “15-year wage squeeze where wages haven’t kept up with inflation”.
Speaking to Today, she added: “We had the Government, back in the winter when they were refusing to negotiate with NHS workers — eventually, of course, they did come to the table — relying very heavily on the pay review bodies, saying we had to take into account this independent process.
“It is a bit rich to hear them now saying: ‘Well, we’re going to overturn those independent recommendations’ when we haven’t even seen them be published yet.”
