{
	"type": "rich",
	"version": "1.0",
	"provider_name": "Action Network",
	"provider_url": "https://actionnetwork.org",
	
	"html": "<link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/petition/increase-hcas-scrap-the-cap?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-petition-area-increase-hcas-scrap-the-cap' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div>",
	"author_name": "Unite Action Network",
	"author_url": "https://actionnetwork.org/groups/unite-action",
	"title": "Raise the weighting! Increase the NHS Higher Cost Area Supplement in London",
	"thumbnail_url": "https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/petitions/photos/000/745/894/normal/PHOTO-2026-03-16-15-05-12.jpg",
	"description": "From housing and transport, to food and energy prices, the cost of living has risen significantly in recent years, and low paid workers in high cost areas like London have been among the worst hit. Over twenty years ago, the High Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) - or London Weighting - was established for NHS staff in London and surrounding areas. It hasn&#x27;t been reviewed since! HCAS is divided into three geographical areas: where you work determines the percentage of your salary used to calculate the HCAS supplement you&#x27;ll receive on top of your basic pay, up to a predetermined cap. Inner London Zone (e.g., Hackney and Camden): 20%, capped at £8,466 Outer London Zone (e.g., Ealing or Newham): 15%, capped at £5,941 Fringe (e.g., parts of Essex and Surrey): 5%, capped at £2,198 (2025/26 figures) What does this mean for pay? Let&#x27;s say you&#x27;re a clinical support worker (NHS Band 3) with under two years experience, working at an Inner London hospital. In the 2025/6 tax year, you would have received £5,609 HCAS on top of your £30,547 salary, but after tax, National Insurance and pension contributions, this would leave you with less than £2,000 a month in one of the most expensive cities in the world! The value of HCAS is pinched from both sides. Because HCAS payments are capped, many workers do not receive the full value of the supplement. Despite years of low NHS pay rises, increasing numbers of workers are losing out to the cap. On the other hand, continually rising costs in our city are eating in to value of the supplement. In other words, HCAS is stagnating. Raise the weighting! Unite is calling for an increase in the High Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) paid to NHS workers in London and surrounding areas, and an end to the cap on the supplement.",
	"url": "https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/increase-hcas-scrap-the-cap"
}