1. To ask the First Minister what engagements she has planned for the rest of the day. (S5F-00789)

Engagements to take forward the Government’s programme for Scotland.

The Royal College of Nursing said yesterday that there are not enough nurses to meet Scotland’s needs. Does the First Minister agree with it?

The First Minister:

There are more nurses working in our national health service now than there were when this Government took office, by a considerable number. However, as I have said many times before in this chamber, we are committed to working with not just the RCN but the British Medical Association and all other professional groups to ensure that together we are investing in the health service and continuing to make the reforms that enable and equip our health service to meet the challenges of the future.

As Ruth Davidson may be aware, yesterday I visited Napier University to meet student nurses, where we confirmed not only an increase in the number of student nurses but the protection of the bursary—which is not being protected in other parts of the United Kingdom. We also confirmed £3 million of additional support for student nurses who have children or other dependents, to make it easier for them to pursue the fantastic career of nursing.

I am aware of the First Minister’s visit yesterday. What is interesting is that the RCN spoke after that visit. It was specific in what it said, which I will read to the First Minister:

“It is not enough to say that there are more nurses ... The question is whether the number meets the demand.”

The RCN says that it does not.

We should ask ourselves why we are in that situation. Six years ago, as health secretary, the First Minister embarked on two years’ worth of catastrophic cuts to nursing places in Scotland. Nursing leaders warned her that those cuts were “not sustainable” and that they could impact on patient care, and members across the chamber warned her of the short-sightedness of her approach. Now, as predicted, patients are paying the price, as routine operations are cancelled and treatment waiting times grow—all because of staff shortages.

If the First Minister had her time over again, would she still make those cuts to student nursing places?

The First Minister:

Let me make a few points about that. I well remember that period: at that time there was the significant challenge of student nurses being unable to get work. There was a problem of nurse unemployment, and we took decisions, which we were right to do, on the basis of the data that was available to us at the time.

The second point that I will make is important. Over the lifetime of this Government, there has been, I think, on average 1,000 more nurses in training each year than was the case in a comparable period under previous Governments.

The number of qualified nurses and midwives in our NHS is up by 5 per cent: there are more than 2,000 additional whole-time equivalent qualified nurses and midwives working in our NHS today. That is a sign of this Government’s commitment to supporting and investing in our NHS.

I have been very clear and will continue to be clear about two things. The first is the need for continued investment. This Government was elected on a commitment to increase investment in the health service over this parliamentary session by £500 million more than inflation, which is a stronger commitment than that of any other party in this Parliament. Secondly, we have to reform our NHS, which is why we have integrated health and social care and why we are committed to getting more money into primary, community and mental health services.

Lastly, I simply say this to Ruth Davidson. Right now, she is arguing for a budget that would give a massive tax cut to the top 10 per cent of income earners in Scotland. I ask her to reflect on what it would mean for the health budget if we were to follow the advice of the Tories in this chamber.

That sounded very much as if the First Minister was asking for praise for trying to mop up a mess that her own cuts had made.

Let us focus on the real-life impact of what has happened. We were contacted this week by a gentleman called Hugh Falconer from Inverurie, who was put on an urgent referral for treatment last year and was told that he would receive surgery within 12 weeks. However, he has now been informed that Aberdeen royal infirmary is no longer able to book his operation and has also stopped referring patients to the Golden Jubilee in Clydebank. He has been told that he will not get the operation that he needs. That is on the back of reports this week that in NHS Grampian there are operating theatres that are lying empty, because hospitals do not have the staff.

I know that the First Minister cannot comment on individual cases, but I remind her of Audit Scotland’s findings last year that after 10 years of this Scottish National Party Government it has failed to do the long-term planning to build up a sustainable workforce in the NHS. Given that the Government has been at this for a decade, can the First Minister give an explanation to people like Mr Falconer who cannot get an operation while operating theatres are lying empty due to a lack of staff?

The First Minister:

I mentioned the increase of qualified nurses and midwives in an earlier answer. Under this Government, staffing in total has increased by more than 11,500 whole-time equivalents. That takes staffing in our health service now to a record level; NHS Grampian, for example, is working to increase its theatre staff and its surgical team has just employed seven newly qualified practitioners. That is a sign of our commitment to staffing in our national health service.

However, we are committed to going further. Unlike other parties in the chamber—and certainly unlike the Conservative party—we are committed to further additional investment in our national health service. I will say it again: there will be £500 million pounds over and above inflation over the life of this Parliament.

I simply pose again the question that I posed in my last answer to Ruth Davidson, because it is important. Right now we are in a budget process in which we are committed to record investment in our national health service; instead, Ruth Davidson wants us to cut tax for the top 10 per cent of income earners in Scotland. I think that people have a right to expect some consistency from the Conservatives when they come to this chamber. We are choosing investment in our national health service, while Ruth Davidson thinks that we should choose tax cuts for the wealthiest. She is entitled to prioritise tax cuts for the wealthiest, but she cannot then come to this chamber and ask for even more money for the health service. It is time for Ruth Davidson to choose, because I choose investment in the health service.

We want to grow the tax base to fund our public services. The First Minister is damaging our economy.

I simply ask her: if staffing is all fine, why are theatres lying empty and patients not getting the operations that they need?

This week, the First Minister asked what kind of country we wanted to be. I am going to tell her the answer to that: I want a country that is run by a Scottish Government that spends its every waking hour sorting out public services such as the NHS, not obsessing about another referendum. I want a Scottish Government that actually wants to deal with the child obesity crisis that has been exposed today, not one that plots how Brexit can be used to create more Division and uncertainty in Scotland. That is the country that I want back. The First Minister says that we must confront independence, but I think that it is probably time for her to confront the failings of 10 years of this incompetent SNP Government and tackle them instead.

The First Minister:

That is a bit rich coming from the party that created the Brexit disaster that the rest of us are now dealing with.

At least Ruth Davidson has posed the right question, because the question is about the kind of country that we want to live in. I will therefore go back to the question that I posed to her earlier, because she really cannot have it both ways. We are in a budget process right now, and Ruth Davidson’s priority is, as she has said before in this chamber, to cut taxes for higher-rate taxpayers. She wants to cut taxes for the top 10 per cent of income earners in this country. She is entitled to set that as a priority, but if we do that, the reality is that we will have less money available to invest in our national health service.

Yes, there is a choice: a choice about the kind of country that we want to live in. I choose a country that invests in its health service, not one that cuts taxes for the richest. That is the difference between this Government and the Conservative Opposition.

I will continue to take the action that we have taken over these past 10 years to get more staff into our health service, to get more investment into our health service and to reduce waiting times in our health service. I will continue to ensure that we take that action over this parliamentary session, and I will leave the Tories—the increasingly right-wing Conservative Party—to argue for tax cuts for the richest in our society.