The BMA has been granted permission for a Judicial Review to appeal the Government’s attempts to make members pay for the McCloud remedy.
Dr Vishal Sharma, chair of the BMA pensions committee, said: “The Government acted unlawfully when reforming the NHS pension scheme in 2015, and consequently is obligated to fix its mistakes. However, instead of paying for this mistake itself, it has tried to pass this cost onto members. In effect, it is asking NHS staff and other public sector workers to pay for the Government’s unlawful actions.
“The NHS pensions scheme was effectively in a surplus position at its last valuation and there was agreement between unions and the Government to increase benefits and reduce costs to bring the scheme back into balance. However, not only has the Government reneged on this agreement, but is also now trying to manipulate the process in order to avoid implementing the increase in benefits that NHS staff are entitled to.”
