 Y cos ikkecy des снимad sy'n gårfod yn agor dd Steel next item Of big sport 29 is topical questions in order to get in as many members as possible, I'd be grateful for short and succinct questions and responses Generation Number One, I call Théisemia White. What is it's response to the report that is less than a quarter of nursing shifts have enough staff. Cabinet secretary, homza y yw gebeas. Before I fuckwys I answered the question, could I just say what a fantastic time for reflection I will be sitting in the chamber to hear it. On any reports of under staffing within our NHS, the Government recognises the challenges associated with ensuring that the health service has the right number of staff in the right place at the right time. We also recognise that demand pressures placed in our health service continue to be significantly exacerbated by the impacts of the pandemic. The recently published National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care does rymian yn ôl i'r rwaćon chi am bobl yn ôl. Roedd hwn yn cymdeithasol i gwladol penydig iawn hwn, yn cyfell-, dros 300 cwyrdd y cynhyrchu, a'r nifer cwyrdd yn cynfodol i 200 allu bydd ychydig iawn hwn yn cyfer. Scciaug y Pallewydd yn gweithio'r cyfrif sjadol hwn yn cymdeithasol i gwladol hwn yn cymdeithasol i gael. Rwy'n cymdeithasol i wladol hwn i'r cyfrif sjadol hwn yn cymdeithasol i gwladol hwn i gael, i gael i merydd, mydwifOTHRI iいつ. notwithstanding our best efforts, the NHS continues to face significant demand pressures and I welcome the conversations on safe staffing and we'll continue to, of course, have regular dialogue with the RCN and other staff-side unions on this important matter. The findings of the Royal College of Nursing's last shift survey are shocking. Almost 70 per cent of staff in Scotland felt that safe and effective patient care was compromised on their last shift due to insufficient staffing levels. That's significantly higher than anywhere else in the UK. We've asked before with no clear answer, so let me try again. When will the Scottish Government provide a timeline for implementing the safe staffing legislation passed unanimously by this Parliament three years ago? I intend to publish a timetable on the implementation of the safe staffing elements of that act very shortly indeed in the coming month, I would hope. What I will say to Tess White, of course, is that the RCN survey was a UK-wide survey in relation to those concerns raised by RCN members. The vast bulk of those members, of course, would have come from England. This is a UK-wide issue. There's no doubt that the effects of the global pandemic have been UK-wide. What I would say to Tess White is that we have a good track record of investing in our nurses. That's probably why we have more qualified nurses per 100,000 than other parts of the UK. We have 8.5 qualified nurses and mid-wise per 1,000 of the population compared with 6.1 in England. We will continue to invest in our staff and we will take forward that safe staffing element of the act that she references in a way that is considered, but, of course, with pace, as it is due. The number of nursing and midwifery vacancies has increased by nearly 40 per cent in a year, with more than 6,200 vacancies currently open across NHS Scotland. I repeat, NHS Scotland. The shortfall in registered nurses has risen to a record high under the SNP Government, while nursing and midwifery growth in Scotland is the slowest in the UK. The situation is so bad that the RCN has evidence that students are being enlisted to plug staffing gaps, a potential breach of the law. Given this record shortfall, does the Cabinet Secretary agree with RCN Scotland that the SNP Green Government's plan to increase the workforce by just 1 per cent over the next five years is totally inadequate? Two things. I am engaging with the RCN later today, in fact, I am going to speak to the Congress. However, let us just put some of the facts on the record. The numbers of qualified nurses and midwives have increased by 13.7 per cent, and this Government came into power. Nurses and midwifery student-funded places have doubled to a target intake in 2022, 2023 or 4,837. We have plans in our workforce strategy to ensure that we continue that growth, and 1 per cent that is referenced by test white is on top of growth that we will naturally see. I am not suggesting at all—and I am certainly not dismissing at all—the very serious concerns that RCN has raised, but our record on staffing is one that I am very proud of. In relation to vacancies, have you been good of test white had read today's workforce statistics? We would have shown, of course, that vacancies in nursing and midwifery have decreased since the last quarter. Cabinet Secretary has already mentioned some of the steps that have been taken to build an existing workforce set out in the national workforce strategy and the increase in staffing levels since 2007, but I want to ask him what action this Government has taken to continue to attract more people into the profession and what support is given to them as they undertake their studies, particularly in midwifery and nursing? Compared to the rest of the UK, we have a very attractive offer in relation to student studying here in Scotland, particularly those that are studying nursing in midwifery, not only in relation to the fact that they will not be paying tuition fees up here in Scotland, but additional support in relation to that. Gillian Martin's first point is an exceptionally important one, particularly in rural and island and remote parts of Scotland, which is about recruitment and retention. Although we are absolutely increasing the number of student-funded places in relation to nursing and midwifery, as I have already referenced, we will recruit from the rest of the UK, but international recruitment also has a really key part to play in attracting people to remote rural and island parts of Scotland. I have referenced the fact that we have recruited almost 200 registered nurses. We have another 200 in the pipeline, and I am working very closely with rural health boards to make sure that that recruitment is not just a central belt recruitment, but a recruitment that is evenly and widely distributed across the length and breadth of Scotland. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The member's survey by the RCN, coupled with the further statistics today showing record nursing vacancies in Scotland, is shocking. Nurses are at a breaking point, and there are reports of nursing staff walking off wards due to stress and pressure that they are being put under. That comes after 15 years of this Government, slashing bed numbers, failing to tackle delayed discharge and failing a nursing profession by cutting training places and presenting no meaningful workforce planning. When I put this issue to the Deputy First Minister at FMQs a few weeks ago, he said, we are working to ensure that we can address the issues that are of concern to members of the Royal College of Nursing. With yet more deeply concerning evidence, what exactly is the Cabinet Secretary doing to address these extremely serious issues that threaten not only the wellbeing of staff but the safety of patients, and is not it time to offer nurses a proper pay award and decent terms and conditions? First of all, I am addressing the RCN directly today. I am meeting with them later tonight. I will hear from them. I will be taking questions and hopefully providing them some reassurance through answers. That dialogue with the RCN will continue regularly and with the other trade unions, as it does right across Government and other trade unions. He talked about record nursing vacancies. I do not know whether he heard my response to test light, but he looked at today's statistics and showed that the vacancies have reduced since the last quarter. We are moving in the right direction. Too high, I accept absolutely fully, but moving in absolutely the right direction. He talked about 15 years in Government. Let me just remind him that in 15 years of this Government, since we took over from his party, workforce in the NHS has gone up by 23.5 per cent, increased by almost 30,000 whole-term equivalents, nurses up by 13.7 per cent, medical and dental consultants up by almost 60 per cent. We have the best-paid staff in the entire UK, including in Labour-run Wales. We have a very strong record, which I am proud to stand on, in relation to investment in the NHS. Those challenges, which members are absolutely right to raise, are ones that have my full focus and full attention. The legislation that we passed in this chamber is not worth the paper that it is written on without the implementation to back that up. Safe staffing is not just about headcount, it is about skills mix and experience. We are losing those skills, and we are losing that experience due to staff burnout. Will the cabinet secretary revisit the Liberal Democrat's suggestion for an urgent burnout prevention strategy? Will he also instruct today the creation of an NHS and social care staff assembly, so that we can learn from the lived experience of staff on the front line? I will consider seriously the point that he makes around a staffing assembly. There are other ways in which we reach out to NHS staff, and I meet them regularly, but I will certainly take on board his consideration. He has referenced the burnout strategy before. I have often said to him that we are investing record amounts, and staff bill being £12 million over the course of the last financial year. I do not think that it requires another bit of paper and another document to be drawn up, but it requires action, which is what we are doing and what we are taking. However, if he wants a broader discussion on wellbeing, as opposed to just asking us to devise a strategy, I am more than happy to arrange time to have that discussion. I take his point fully about the implementation and test rights points about the implementation of safe staffing legislation, and that is why I am committed to publishing an implementation timetable very soon. The RCN survey found that students and support staff are being asked to fill staffing gaps and undertaking the work of registered nurses. How will the Scottish Government work with health boards to ensure that all students and staff are aware of their rights, and that there are clear channels for them to raise concerns if they are being asked to fill in for nurses inappropriately? I think that that is a really important message by Gillian Mackay. I will reiterate that message when I meet the RCN, that if any member of staff, including, of course, our hard-working nurses and student-midwifes have any concerns, there should be an environment in their health board, in their hospital or the community setting that they are in that allows them to raise those concerns. I met all the whistleblowing champions in all the health boards in Scotland recently, as well as the independent national whistleblower's office, and there was agreed action points that we think that there is more that we can do with staff cohorts so that they know their rights in relation to whistleblowing. We can incorporate and ensure that students right across the medical and clinical cohorts are very much part of that communication strategy. I refer to my entry in the register of members' interests to ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent reports, whether it will provide further information regarding existing ScotRail contracts with Ibellio. As part of the transition to a publicly owned railway, it was necessary for Transport Scotland to undertake a review of all existing contracts. It was identified that four existing Ibellio contracts would be required to continue with ScotRail trains limited from 1 April this year to ensure consistency of service for passengers and to facilitate a smooth transition. Contracts retained include Ibellio Shared Services Centre for customer service calls and correspondence, payroll services and payment processing facilities, Ibellio rail replacement for the provision of planned and unplanned replacement bus and taxi services, advanced ventures for management of station tenancy and advertising management and the bus link between central and Glasgow Queen Street stations. The information in the media came from a freedom of information request. Could the cabinet secretary inform the Parliament how much money is involved in these contracts? I cannot disclose the financials involved in these contracts because they are commercially sensitive. However, I think that she is right that public ownership of Scotland's railways needs to mean exactly that. Her question requires a level of contextualisation to that end. First of all, it was prudent to carry over a limited number of contracts, whether delivered by Ibellio or other suppliers, to maintain ScotRail services from day one of public ownership and to give that continuity of service for passengers and staff alike. However, it is also a pretty common practice right across the UK in relation to the UK and Welsh Governments in relation to practices that have been undertaken in the past. Secondly, there are only four Ibellio contracts from almost 200 suppliers that remain in place, and three of those have a one-year break clause point that will allow for competitive alternatives to be looked at. The approach taken has been a pragmatic one, but it is particularly prudent when we consider the fourth contract, which secures jobs at the ScotRail services centre in Glasgow. I am grateful to the cabinet secretary for that answer, and perhaps she could reconsider some of the issues around a bit confidentiality and write to me in detail on that, given that this is fair pairs and tax pairs money that we are talking about. I hope that she does agree with me that every penny of the money that we put into our railways should be put into the system and not leak out into the public sector. Could she outline whether there are any rail replacement services being provided by Ibellio, given that we know that there are contracts relating to that, but there are currently a lack of rail replacement services? Could she give a commitment to look at that contract and the others with Ibellio to bring them back in-house as soon as possible, as she has indicated, and give a timescale in relation to that? I thank the member for her supplementary question. She covers a number of points. First of all, I want to make clear that none of those contracts are permanent feature of public ownership. Indeed, to that end, I have asked my officials at Transport Scotland to continuously review whether they are delivering best value for money. The point that she made at the start of her question in relation to the benefit to leaking out in terms of the finances here, I am sympathetic to the principle. However, we need to consider that continuity aspect, which, on 1 April, was essential. There was a level of anxiety, of course, for staff and passengers alike on 1 April. At that time, I think that there needed to be a level of continuity going forward. The contracts were reviewed at the point in which Scotland came into public ownership on 1 April itself. More broadly, on her ask, as we move forward with public ownership, as she knows that I want our trade union partners to have a best stake, as do passengers and staff alike, in Scotland's railways and what that vision will look like. That is why we have committed to a national conversation on rail. She asked a question about rail replacement buses, which links to one of the contracts. As she may be aware, Scotland has confirmed that securing rail replacement transport at this time is significantly more challenging than it has been in the past. That relates to a decrease in the number of available bus and taxi drivers, coinciding with another number of challenges, not least in terms of the challenges that the bus industry faces in relation to the Covid pandemic, but also some of the challenges there have been compounded by the wider impacts of Brexit. I am happy to take her question more generally in relation to bus replacement to ScotRail. She will understand that, over the past couple of weeks, I have been making these representations myself. There is a challenge here for ScotRail. I recognise that, but I am happy to write to the member with more detail on the timescales associated with any delivery of further bus replacement. I think that we all accept that a transfer like this into the public sector will happen over a period of time. However, can the minister clarify how many staff are involved in those contracts? Obviously, they will be a bit concerned about their futures at the moment, so can she give them any reassurance that, in future, fair work, principles and practices will certainly apply to them, whether they are in-house or on contract? The move to ScotRail trains limited has given stability for all ScotRail staff, and this Government remains absolutely committed to a policy of no compulsory redundancies. The member asks about the number of jobs affected. The four contracts being retained have supported a number of jobs, with around 160 being secured for the next three years at the Abelio Shared Services Centre in Glasgow. Both ScotRail holdings limited and ScotRail trains limited are required to comply with the Fair Work Convention 2015, the Fair Work Framework 2016 and the Scottish Government's Fair Work First guidance. That requirement is set out in the framework agreement and grant agreement, which underpins the new arrangements that came into effect on April 1. It seems to me that we need full transparency here. The minister should be telling us what those contracts are worth and not hide behind commercial sensitivity. Whilst she is thinking about that, could she also commit to telling us what the new chief executive and chief operating officer are being paid out of the public purse, because we don't know that either? Minister? No, the member is right on his final point. You don't yet know that, and you should know that. It should be in the public domain and, for clarity, it will be published in the coming weeks. I have had an assurance from ScotRail on that in relation to those salaries. In relation to the figures associated with those four Abelio contracts—remember, there are a number of other contracts involved in this process—they are commercially sensitive. I am not able to disclose that information in the chamber today. However, I have undertaken to ask my officials in Transport Scotland to continuously review the contracts that are currently in place to ensure best value to the taxpayer.