Doctors and dentists in the UK are to receive a 1.5% pay rise this year. Ministers say they will accept the figures recommended by the Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration Review Body. However, according to the British Dental Association, the increase will amount to only a 0.21% gross pay uplift and does nothing to provide a much needed boost for NHS dentistry. John Milne, Chair of the BDA's General Dental Practice Committee, said, 'Sadly, the basis of the formula which suggests that the increase might amount to 1.5% in real terms does not take account of the effect of the devaluation of sterling and its effect on the prices of equipment and materials that are largely manufactured overseas. These expenses, and dentists' ability to access the finance necessary to met them, are both adversely affected by the recession.'