To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making with its plans to recruit and retain additional nurses.

We are committed to recruiting more nurses to NHSScotland. Over the next five years 10,000 more nurses and midwives will qualify in Scotland, 1,500 more than previously planned.

The Nursing and Midwifery Convention held on 19 November 2001 provided an important springboard for a renewed national effort to secure the nurses needed for NHSScotland - both now and in the future. The Executive has made available £1.5 million of immediate investment specifically dedicated to ideas generated by this convention.