Teachers and nurses will be in the firing line if ‘local pay’ is implemented in Bradford, new documents reveal.

And women in the public sector will be hit harder than men, under the Government’s plans for different rates around the country.

Chancellor George Osborne has outlined the Coalition’s determination to implement local pay from next year, allowing lower rates in the North than in London and the South East, to reflect the cheaper cost of living.

Critics, including trade unions, have accused Mr Osborne of “opening up a postcode pay lottery”.

But ministers insist the measures – which threaten some workers with long-term pay freezes – are necessary because higher public-sector salaries mean private firms struggle to recruit.

The Government has promised no wages will be cut, although freezes and the effect of inflation will mean a reduction in real terms.

The Treasury’s response to a consultation into the changes says: “The public sector pays more than is necessary to recruit, retain and motivate staff in some areas”.

Yorkshire’s “pay differential” between public and private sector is greatest in the case of secondary school teachers, who earn between 1.5 and 1.75 times the comparable private sector wage.

Police officers are in second place. Ministers have previously said they would not be affected, although this is not confirmed in the Government’s proposals.

Next most vulnerable to a pay freeze would be paramedics and nurses, at just under 1.25 times the average.

The documents also suggest that almost everywhere outside the South East will be affected. Ministers want to follow the precedent of the court service, which operates four different pay scales across the country.

London is on the top rate, followed by the South East, while almost all other areas are then bracketed together.

According to the Government’s submissions, the “pay premium” for the public sector in Yorkshire is 13.8 per cent, well above the UK average of 8.3 per cent. And it is higher for women (16.1 per cent ) than men (10.5 per cent). The ‘pay premium’ is the figure used by ministers to justify the move towards local rates.

The changes were backed by Shipley MP Philip Davies and Bradford East MP David Ward, both members of the coalition parties.

Mr Davies said: “It is not as if the Government is taking money off people, it will not affect people. I do not know any organisation in the country that does not have a form of regional pay. MPs in London have London weighting. I want to get away from any kind of set pay. I want public bodies to pay people what they are worth to that organisation and not have to pay the same for the same job.”

Mr Ward said: “If it’s beneficial to creating new jobs, I really don’t see the arguments against it.”

Kevin Rowan, the regional secretary of the TUC, said: “The Government is simply not comparing like-with-like. There are no nurses, paramedics or social worker in the private sector, just as there are few engineers or printers in the public sector.

“The only fair comparison to make is between people doing the same job, with the same skills and same experience not opening up a postcode pay lottery.”