 The next item of business is an urgent question, and it's a question from Jackie Baillie. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the formal notification by RCN Scotland that it is in trade dispute with it over pay. Cabinet Secretary, Humza Yousaf? Clearly, this notification from Monday, but I look forward to continuing to engage with them. We've engaged in these pay negotiations through the staff side representative and collective union group stack, a process that's been in place. In May, the clear majority of union representatives representing a clear majority of NHS staff reported that they accepted the 21-22 pay deal, including Unison Scotland, the Royal College of Midwives and many others. As such, we've moved to deliver the pay increase with uplifted back pay as soon as possible. That 4 per cent increase stands in stack contrast to the paltry 1 per cent on the table from the UK Government for Nurses in England. I met with E.S. North of June, and clearly I've had the chance to begin on this matter. Cabinet Secretary, there's a point of order, Jackie Baillie, if you would wish to... I didn't ask for a point of order. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought it was coming from Jackie Baillie. Alex Cole-Hamilton point of order. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Unsurprisingly, as an urgent question, there's a lot of interest in the answers from the Government on this. I wonder if, given the connection issues that the Cabinet Secretary is struggling with, if there is another member of the Government who might be prepared to answer the question. I note the point of order from the member. I think that what we might seek to do at this juncture is to ask the Cabinet Secretary to turn his vision button off so that we have audio only and we'll see if we can try again and see if that works better. Perhaps the Cabinet Secretary could just start again in his answer to Jackie Baillie's initial question. Yeah, I'm happy to, Presiding Officer. The apologies I can hear and see everybody find so apologies if the connection is from my end and just interrupt me if the connection does not get better. If it is at all helpful, I do have another backup device that I'm happy to try to use quickly and set up quickly, if I can. My answer to the question was that, of course, the notification from the RCN is disappointing. I do look forward to continuing to engage with it. We have engaged with it through pay negotiations through STAC, a process that's been in place since 2005. In May, the clear majority of unions on STAC that represent a clear majority of NHS staff reported that the extended train is in Scotland, the Royal College of Midwives, among others too. As such, we've moved to deliver the increased pay with uplifted back pay as soon as possible and the 4 per cent increase in pay stands in stark contrast to the power through 1 per cent of the table on the UK Government for nurses in England. I met with RCN and the rest of STAC on 14 June and, clearly, I'd be happy to meet with them again on those matters at the STAC meeting. We discussed that this was the biggest uplift for NHS Scotland staff in at least 20 years and continues to ensure that our nurses are the best paid in the UK. Thank you, cabinet secretary. Jackie Baill, I hope that there was enough there to help you in your supplementary questions. There was indeed, Presiding Officer. It's fair to say that this is the first time in the history of the RCN Scotland that they've notified the Government of a trade dispute, but this is about so much more than pay. Nursing staff have been mourning for years, the unsustainable vacancy levels, increasing workload demands and the risk that this poses to patient care and safety need to be addressed. The vacancy rate is up and 30 per cent of vacant posts have been vacant for more than three months. Now, nursing staff are exhausted after months of working on the Covid front line. Many are considering leaving the profession, making staff shortages worse. With the scale of the backlog challenge facing the NHS, why has the Government allowed the relationship with the nursing workforce to deteriorate to this level? I wouldn't agree unsurprisingly with Jackie Baill's characterisation. It is unprecedented from the RCN. I will look to engage and reach out with the RCN. In my first few days in my role, I wrote to the RCN. I followed that up, as I've mentioned in my previous answer, with a meeting with the RCN and other trade unions on which pay and other matters were part of the discussion. I will again reach out to the RCN to have a discussion and bilateral with them, but this Government has an exceptional record in the most unprecedented of times. We have not only implemented a record pay rise—a single largest pay rise for NHS staff in a single year—but that also comes on top of the £500 thank you payment. In fact, qualified nurses and midwives are at a record high—up 12.8 per cent to over £46,000. In Scotland, we have 8.5 qualified nurses and midwives per 1,000, compared with 5.9 in England. However, the points that Jackie Baill raises, I do not seek to minimise them whatsoever. However, we know that there are still challenges, which is why I am absolutely committed to ensuring that we continue to invest in, for example, the mental wellbeing hub, which will help the resilience of our workforce. However, there are issues that still need to be discussed. I am happy to get back around the table with the RCN. Jackie Baillie? I repeat that this is the first time in the history of RCN Scotland that they have taken such action. It is unprecedented. I ask the cabinet secretary what wider action will he take to deal with the workforce pressures, what action will he take to recruit and retain the nursing staff required and will he urgently meet with the RCN, because they claim that despite attempts to engage with the new cabinet secretary, their requests for a meeting have been ignored. Will the cabinet secretary commit to an urgent meeting with RCN Scotland to hear their concerns and find a solution before that escalates even further? I reiterate that I have engaged with the RCN literally in my first few days of post that I wrote to the RCN in response to the letter to my predecessor. I met with the RCN just a matter of around about 10 days ago as part of a wider group of meetings with all the trade unions. Of course, I am more than happy to meet with the RCN, and I look to do that and get that under way. On the broader issues that Jackie Baillie raises fairly reasonably, we will look to engage with not just the RCN but our other trade unions around the mental wellbeing of our staff. We know that the past 15 months have probably been the hardest and the most difficult for most of our NHS staff in their entire career, so that is why we are putting in place a comprehensive package of wellbeing support. That includes the national wellbeing hub, the national wellbeing helpline, psychological interventions and therapies, coaching for wellbeing, digital apps, workforce specialist services for regulated staff, including nurses as well. We will look to do that. The final thing that I will say to Jackie Baillie is that she knows about our plans for a national recovery plan. A lot of our implementation of important wellbeing measures will be part of that recovery plan, which I am happy to engage with. The latest workforce statistic shows that there are over 4,400 nursing vacancies in Scotland, and that a fifth of the workforce is over the age of 55. We urgently need to improve recruitment and retention of nurses if we are to maintain safe levels of care. Does the cabinet secretary recognise that paying conditions will be essential to ensuring that the NHS has the nursing workforce that it needs and the implementation of the Health and Care Staffing Scotland Act, which has been delayed due to the pandemic? I think that Gillian Mackay makes a reasonable point. That is why we have implemented the single largest pay rise in the history of devolution for NHS staff. That is why we also gave our NHS staff £500. Thank you, payment and recognition of what a challenging 15 to 16 months it has been. Gillian Mackay is also right, of course. Recruitment and retention is important. I am pleased with the record that we have in Government of recruiting qualified nurses and midwives at a record high. However, where there are still challenges, I am more than happy to engage and will engage with the RCN, but many of the issues that have been raised by Gillian Mackay and by Jackie Baillie will certainly be part of our recovery plan, which we have committed to in the first 100 days. All too often, nurses have had to bear the brunt of this pandemic. Many have had absolutely no respite between cancelled leave and overtime, and the sustained high-intensity workload has and will result in significant mental health repercussions. There can be no NHS recovery without a committed and motivated nursing workforce. They are pivotal. The Government must make it clear that they are valued and will be listened to and supported at all times, not just in the run-up to an election. When it comes to the mental wellbeing of our nurses, what package of support will be offered to them alongside a much-needed pay uplift? I will answer this and my answer to Jackie Baillie, but just to repeat. I think that I was right that there must be a comprehensive package of wellbeing support. I am pleased that there is. That includes the national wellbeing hub and the national wellbeing helpline, psychological interventions and therapies for staff, coaching for wellbeing. There are digital apps that are available for the workforce too. There is a workforce specialist service for regulated staff that includes nurses in the faculty of school, Hamilton, who wishes to have even more detail about some of those interventions. I am more than happy for him to write to me now. Of course, we will respond in due course, but we take our commitment to our workforce exceptionally seriously. That is why we have implemented the single largest pay rise in the history of the evolution for NHS Scotland staff. Before we move on to the next item of business, which is a committee of the whole Parliament, I suspend this meeting of Parliament.