The hot political topic of the moment is public sector pay scales. After years of public sector pay restraint – capped at no more than 1% increase since 2010 – there is an understandable weariness about this whole issue.

Of course, there is no doubt that the government must be responsible with taxpayers’ money, but does that mean potentially undervaluing public sector workers? We all value the services they deliver and without them there would be no schools, hospitals, fire fighters, police, and more. But what is the right price to pay for them?

The answer is proposed by the public sector pay review boards, who look at all the evidence put forward. They study evidence and submissions from unions to economists, and come up with a suggestion. The schools board has this week suggested maintaining the 1% cap.

This is a tricky area. The independent Institute of Fiscal Studies analyses and comments on public finances and they have recently reported that despite the cap, public sector workers still get paid more than their private sector counterparts, across all sectors apart from the very highly paid sector. Consider pension arrangements and private sector workers are even worse off, although less worse off than a decade ago.

Looking at the public sector pay scales also reveals how ‘in-band progression’ gives rises above inflation. For example, a newly qualified nurse will be paid £21,909. Her first year in-band rise is 2.5%, then it rises at 4% per annum for the next 6 years. To go to the next band, he or she will need to further qualify, but rising through the pay bands means getting 5% annual rise including the capped overall rise. Teachers have similar band system, but they can only progress through at the discretion of their head teacher. Fire fighters are on a different, fire authority determined system.

The public sector, or course, competes with the private sector for workers. As public sector pay rises against private, businesses must pay more to keep their staff. If private pay is too much, the public sector is starved of available workers, so balance is key. And all wage rises run the risk of creating inflation which is bad for everyone.

These are the issues, and many, many more, that the public sector pay review boards look at. With public sector pay such an emotive issue, I would rather leave the decision making to these clear headed and independent enquiries and act according to their recommendations.