Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is firmly committed to ensuring that Scotland has the right nursing workforce, in the right place, with the right skills and competencies to support current and future service reform and sustainability.

The Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce sets out a number of recommended actions which are being progressed at pace to expand pathways into the nursing profession, have a meaningful and lasting impact on workforce wellbeing, improve retention, reduce stress and burnout, create a more positive and resilient workforce and ensure nursing remains an attractive career. The Taskforce has recognised the need to develop the career structure in Scotland and enhance the journey through pre-registration to post-registration, to advanced practice and onto leadership. Newly qualified nurses are not specifically mentioned in the recommended actions, however there are many recommended actions that address wellbeing and enhance professional support that would benefit newly qualified nurses.

The use of temporary staff in an organisation as large and complex as NHS Scotland will always be required to ensure vital service provision during times of unplanned absence, sickness and increased unforeseen activity, with the majority of spend on temporary staff directed through the NHS staff bank. These are NHS staff, on NHS contracts at NHS rates of pay.

In keeping with our commitment to direct as much of our resources as possible towards frontline services, the latest workforce statistics demonstrate the significant progress made to reduce NHS Scotland’s reliance on agency workers, with a 39% reduction in nurse agency usage alongside a 4% reduction in medical agency usage delivered across 2025-26.

Investing in staff wellbeing supports retention rates, reduces absenteeism and helps foster a more sustainable workforce.

NHS Boards are responsible for determining the workforce needed to deliver services safely and effectively, and have worked with us to prepare for the reduced working week.

The impact of the reduced working week is reflected in NHS Boards workforce plans, which considered the factors required to maintain safe service provision.

Recruitment of newly qualified nurses is informed by workforce planning undertaken at local and national levels, and we will continue to work with NHS Boards to ensure an appropriate nursing workforce supply.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01456 on 20 July 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Funding Council collects data on the number of students who have graduated from pre-registration children’s nursing courses across Scotland.

There are no pre-registration neo-natal programmes available in Scotland. Instead, qualified nurses can undertake a specific neonatal qualification post registration course known as Neonatal Care - Qualified in Speciality.

Whilst the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters such as staffing and recruitment, including the recruitment of graduates, are the responsibility of the individual health and social care employers, taking into account national, regional and local priorities.

Student intake targets for nursing and midwifery controlled funded places are set for three years to provide stability across partners, including higher education institutions. The most recent multi-year target has been set for 2026-27 to 2028-29, with an annual review to ensure targets remain appropriate.

There is extensive engagement with stakeholders (who are invited to share their own data) when setting the three year targets, as well as discussing their insights on NHS Scotland vacancies, establishment figures and clinical placement capacity. Both quantitative and qualitative data are considered as part of this process. Stakeholders include NHS Boards, Higher Education Institutes, Royal Colleges and Trade Unions.

Alongside this planning, the Scottish Government works with the Student Award Agency Scotland (SAAS) to ensure appropriate funding is available for the corresponding number of students, including for the bursary and any relevant allowances.

The Scottish Government values the contribution of the NHS Scotland workforce and is committed to supporting those who choose to pursue a career in nursing. Scottish Ministers have overseen 14 consecutive years of growth in the NHS Scotland workforce, invested in improving the terms and conditions of NHS Scotland staff and continue to deliver activity flowing from both the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce and the Future Medical Workforce Project to support these professions. The Scottish Government is committed to building on this progress and will set out further detail on the proposed job guarantee in due course.

The average cost to train a nursing student in Scotland is approximately £60k over the typical three year course. This includes bursary, tuition fees and teaching grant. Placement costs vary per student and are not included. The Scottish Government has committed to uprating the bursary available for nursing and midwifery students.

Operational matters such as staffing and recruitment, including the recruitment of graduates, are the responsibility of the individual health and social care employers.

The Scottish Government does not hold information relating to students who have not completed pre-registration nursing programmes in each of the last three years. This data may be available via individual institutions. Students do not complete courses for a variety of reasons. However, the Scottish Government recognises the financial challenges faced by all students, including nursing and midwifery students, and understands that this has been exacerbated by the cost of living crisis. This is why we have committed to uprating the student nursing and midwifery bursary.