3. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the number of applicants applying to study nursing in Scotland does not drop further in the future, in light of Universities and Colleges Admissions Service data reportedly showing that the number of applicants has fallen by 24 per cent compared to the same point last year. (S6O-01910)

I will be relatively brief, because I answered some of that question in my previous response. I hope that Colin Beattie will be reassured that higher education institutes continue to recruit to the programmes until June, so we would always expect there to be an increase between the figures that are released in January and the figures that are released in June.

Not all funded places are applied for via UCAS—something that Colin Beattie will undoubtedly know. For example, Open University funded places and applications for those will also contribute to final student numbers.

Lastly, the pay offer that we have put on the table for 2023-24 will ensure that our nurses, as well as other NHS agenda for change staff, remain the best paid in the entire United Kingdom. That is a great draw to get those individuals working in the NHS.

It is important to ensure that we have provision for the future nursing workforce in our health service and that we encourage applicants to study nursing in Scotland. With that in mind, Scotland has seen a 5 per cent increase in acceptance of nursing and midwifery places since 2019. Will the cabinet secretary outline the steps that are being taken to encourage applicants, and will he confirm that we are recruiting at the level that the country needs?

I thank

Colin Beattie for that question. I reiterate what I said to Sue Webber: the level of vacancies is not what we want to see, and we want to reduce that level as much as we possibly can. Our nurses make up the largest profession in our NHS, and I am proud that we have increased our funded nursing places for 10 consecutive years, but we are now very actively working on the widening access to nursing programme.

I go back to the point that I made in answer to the previous question, that the nursing task force recommendations might take some time to implement. Actually, we are looking for some really quick wins. I think that we can make some quick wins to widen access to the profession, and I will keep members who are interested updated on the work of the task force.

The Deputy Presiding Officer:

There are a number of supplementary questions. Those questions and the responses will need to be brief.

The 24 per cent reduction in the number of people applying to study nursing is the biggest drop in applicants for nursing in any part of the UK and the lowest figure at any point in the past five years. With 6,300 nursing vacancies in Scotland, the reductions in the numbers applying will add to the workforce crisis. Others have asked what the cabinet secretary intends to do to boost recruitment. Let me focus on the short term. Will the cabinet secretary bring forward a retention strategy to stop nurses leaving in droves because they feel exhausted and burnt out?

Jackie Baillie makes a reasonable point about the retention side of things. That is precisely why we set up the nursing and midwifery task force. It is there to look at, for example, flexible working. How many nurses have Jackie Baillie and I spoken to who have said that they feel that the NHS is simply not flexible if they want to change their shift patterns? The task force will look at, for example, what more we can do on and around retention. That will be a key focus.

Instead of setting up the strategy, the right way round to do it is to engage with the Royal College of Nursing, trade unions and employers, engage with the staff—hear from them directly their suggestions for what they want to see—and try to get some quick wins. [

Interruption

.] I do not think that there is much between us. I cannot quite hear Jackie Baillie as she shouts from a sedentary position, but—

The Deputy Presiding Officer:

Please ignore the sedentary comments.

I am happy to pick that up with her after the meeting.

The Royal College of Nursing exposes the crisis in nursing by underscoring the significant risk to patient care, with nine in 10 nurses—almost 86 per cent—reporting that their last shift was unsafe for them and the care of their patients. We cannot afford the nursing task force being a talking shop. As I am likely addressing our new First Minister, will he please outline—

The Deputy Presiding Officer:

Ask the question, please.

—how he will improve safety for patients and nurses?

I might not put that endorsement on my leaflet, but I thank the member for the comment. I say to Sandesh Gulhane that what would definitely not help us is the approach that the UK Government has taken, which is to not meaningfully engage with nurses, who then go on strike and feel that they are devalued. We are taking a different approach. We are engaging meaningfully with our nurses, we have avoided dispute, we have avoided strikes, and here we are ensuring that they are—that they remain—the best paid nurses anywhere in the UK.

We will continue to engage with our nurses. The task force will not be a talking shop. I am surprised that the member described the RCN as a talking shop. It will be an integral member of the nursing and midwifery task force, and it has welcomed it—[

Interruption

.] In fact, the nursing and midwifery task force idea—

The Deputy Presiding Officer:

Cabinet secretary—

—came from the RCN, and I am delighted to be a part of it.

The Deputy Presiding Officer:

Cabinet secretary, I asked for brief responses.

Paul McLennan has a brief supplementary question.

Does the cabinet secretary agree that the UK Government should match the £10,000 non-means-tested bursary that students in Scotland get, to attract students from across the UK to the sector?

Does he agree that, if the UK Government were to match the pay deal that has been offered to nurses in Scotland, it would need to increase pay by 14 per cent? [

Interruption

.]

I do not know why the Conservatives are moaning about that. They ask about recruitment and retention, and that is fundamental.

I agree that other Governments should look to what we are doing to ensure that nurses do not start their working lives in debt. With our pay offer, an experienced nurse in Scotland will earn £37,664 compared to £32,934 in England, which is a 14 per cent difference.

We should not only reward nurses as best we possibly can, but ensure that those who are training to be nurses get all the support that we can possibly give them.