LONDON (MktNews) - UK pay settlements so far in 2001 are "a little up" on those agreed in the closing months of last year, Incomes Data Services reported Monday. Two-thirds of this year's pay reviews gave increases in the range of 3-4%, with half of them worth 3.5% or more. "This is substantially higher than in the same period a year ago, when nearly half of pay settlements were under 3%," IDS said. It pointed out that a key difference between the two periods is the headline annual inflation rate which has influenced decisions on pay. This was running at less than 2% for the nine months up to January 2000 whereas it was close to or above 3% for the nine months up to January 2001. IDS also noted that pay offers have been made for this year, and in a number of instances settlements reached, for over three million public sector workers, amounting to more than half the public sector workforce. The 3.7% award to key review body groups has set a significant benchmark, although public sector employers in Scotland seem to be setting a rather different course. In the motor industry the winter pay round has largely been concluded, yielding rises ranging from 3.5% to 4.25%.