Matt Hancock has said "now is not the time to discuss a pay rise for nurses", although he said he was "sympathetic to the argument".
The Health Secretary paid tribute to the work being done by those in the health service but would not be drawn on whether they deserved more money.
The starting salary for a nurse will be £24,900 in 2020/21. Nurses suffered like the rest of the public sector from the coalition then Tory government's pay freeze with lasted from 2011-12 and then 1% pay cap for the next five years.
They finally secured a pay rise in 2018 with a rise of 6.5% agreed. But may say it is a paltry amount compared to the work they do.