Philip Hammond has told Jeremy Hunt he will not provide extra money for a pay rise for doctors and nurses unless the NHS becomes more efficient, the Health Secretary has suggested.

Mr Hunt said the Chancellor had made clear that “if we can have a negotiation and look at some of the ways that we could improve productivity” then he will be “willing to have a discussion” about the possibility of handing over more money.

The Health Secretary announced earlier this month that the public sector pay cap, which has limited increases to one per cent, will be abolished for the NHS.

However, he would not say whether boosts to basic pay would come from cuts elsewhere in the health service.

Mr Hunt told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday the size of any pay award would be left up to the independent pay review body but that he understood the “frustration” felt by staff at the small increases they have received in recent years.