PRESSURE is mounting for an explanation of what happened to public money that was meant to fund a decade of unsocial hours pay for non-clinical support staff at Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary.

Three Labour politicians from the city are calling for an “open investigation” of the issue, which triggered a bitter industrial dispute.

Their plea came several weeks after a long-running dispute over the payments was resolved, with union officials welcoming the decision by facilities management firm Mitie to start giving the 150 support staff involved — including porters, cleaners and switchboard workers — enhanced pay for weekend and night shifts from November.

This has long been the rule for NHS workers.

But questions remain about what NHS bosses say was a “substantial sum” handed over in 2010 by the NHS trust to the private finance firm Health Management Carlisle (HMC), which owns the Infirmary building.

Over the past decade, support staff did not get the enhanced pay, estimated by one union to be worth £260,000 annually.

There is also continuing confusion over how much North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust ­— which runs medical services at the infirmary ­— gave to HMC for unsocial hours pay. Facilities firm Mitie ­— which took over the hospital contract last year from another firm ­— said HMC had not handed over any cash to fund the payments.

In their statement, county councillors Alan McGuckin and Karen Lockney, along with Carlisle city councillor Pete Sunter, called for transparency over what happened to the “substantial sum” given to HMC in 2010.

The three councillors ­— who represent Denton Holme and Cathedral and Castle wards, respectively ­— said: ‘We have submitted a Freedom of Information request to find out exactly how much public money we are talking about.

“However, what is clear is that money has changed hands and was not paid to workers. We call on the NHS Trust and the Audit Office to open an inquiry.”

The councillors said they supported the workers’ strike action, adding: “This call relates to back-pay. We are aware The Cumberland News is on record as saying it has seen evidence a ‘substantial sum’ was paid to HMC’. We simply ask: where is this money?”

David Atkinson, the Carlisle based full-time official for the public sector workers’ union Unison, said: “There should always be transparency and accountability when it comes to spending public money.

"This shows how unsuitable PFI is as a way of funding NHS services.”

NCIC is thought to pay more than £23m in annual PFI fees. At the end of the 35-year PFI contract, it will not own the hospital building.

HMC was unavailable for comment.