Comment on PwC report

Commenting on the report from PwC, Shadow Scottish Secretary Lesley Laird MP said: 

“This report is yet more evidence that we have an economy that doesn’t work for ordinary people.

“There is real concern about the lack of wage growth, with many people turning to increased borrowing or having to dip into their savings to get by, while more people than ever are using food banks.

“This is the reality of the Tories and SNP’s low-wage, insecure economy, with more people in Scotland in working poverty than at any point since devolution.

“Labour’s government-in-waiting in Westminster would do things differently. We would raise the minimum wage to a Real Living Wage of £10 per hour, ban zero-hour contracts and lift the pay cap on our public sector workers as part of our plan to create an economy that works for the many, not the few.”

PRIVATE NHS SPENDING TOPS £600MILLION UNDER SNP

Anas Sarwar – Labour 

Spending on private agency staff has totalled almost £600million under the SNP, Scottish Labour can reveal.

Figures show spending on clinical and non-clinical agency staff has soared from £82million in 2011/12 to a staggering £175million in 2015/16 – an increase of 113 per cent.

A new analysis by Scottish Labour reveals the total spend since 2011/12 is £597million.

Scottish Labour said the figures showed the extent of the SNP’s mismanagement of our NHS, leaving staff under-valued and under-resourced.

Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson Anas Sarwar MSP said:

“The SNP’s decade of NHS mismanagement has left staff under-valued and under-resourced.

“While refusing to give our NHS staff a pay rise, Nicola Sturgeon is instead forking out hundreds of millions of pounds to private companies because of her failure to workforce plan.

“This makes a mockery of SNP claims to protect our valued NHS and is simply not good enough – staff and patients deserve better.

“Scottish Labour is establishing a workforce commission to address the SNP’s staffing crisis in our NHS.

“Nicola Sturgeon and her ministers need to get back to the day job of fixing the mess they have made of our health service.”

Notes

Audit Scotland analysis – NHS Scotland Private Agency Spend
Year	Clinical and non–clinical agency (£)
2011/12	82m
2012/13	93m
2013/14	115m
2014/15	132m
2015/16	175m
Total	£597m

Source:Audit Scotland: Scotland’s NHS Workforce

NHS AGENCY NURSE SPENDING RISES SIX-FOLD

Anas Sarwar – Labour 

Spending on agency nurses in Scotland has risen six-fold in just five years, new figures have revealed.

In 2010/11, health boards spent a total of just under £4million on agency nurses – but that number sky-rocketed to more than £24million by 2016/17, Labour can reveal. In the same period, the number of nursing and midwifery posts being unfilled increased from 550 to almost 3,000.

Scottish Labour said the figures show the price of Nicola Sturgeon’s decision to slash training places for nurses when she was Health Secretary.

The figures have been revealed as part of Labour’s summer campaign, For the Many, which this week will focus on the NHS.

 

Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson Anas Sarwar MSP said:

 

“These are truly extraordinary figures that show the price of Nicola Sturgeon’s mismanagement of our NHS.

“A six-fold increase in spending on agency nurses should be a wake-up call for the SNP. Nicola Sturgeon’s cuts are leaving our NHS staff over-worked, under-resourced and under-pressure.

“Our NHS staff and patients in Scotland deserve better – and over this week we will outline how Labour will make our NHS work for the many, not the few.

“Nicola Sturgeon needs to get back to the day job of fixing the mess she has made of our NHS.”

Notes

Agency Spending

Agency nursing and midwifery for financial period 1st April – 31st March
Apr 1 – Mar 31	Cost (£)
2011/12	3,939,107
2012/13	6,390,142
2013/14	9,325,810
2014/15	16,001,526
2015/16	23,483,306
2016/17	24,504,912
Total	83,644,803

Source: ISD Scotland Bank and agency nursing and midwifery comparison (capacity) (March 2017)

–       The spending change from 11/12 to 16/17 represents a 522 per cent increase.

–       As Health Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon cut nurse training places which she said was ‘a sensible way forward’

Total Nursing and Midwifery vacancies
Date	Nursing & Midwifery Vacancies (WTE)
Mar-2011	552.4
Mar-2012	1027.9
Mar-2013	1609.1
Mar-2014	1637.5
Mar-2015	1991.8
Mar-2016	2211.4
Mar-2017	2818.9
11 – 17 Percentage Change	410.3

Source: ISD Scotland nursing and midwifery vacancies

Comment on unfilled teacher training courses

Daniel Johnson – Labour 

Commenting on the report in today’s edition of The Times that some of Scotland’s key teacher training courses are half empty weeks before they are due to start, Scottish Labour’s Shadow Education Minister Daniel Johnson MSP said:

“We know a decade of mismanagement by the SNP has lead to a drastic teacher shortage in Scotland.

“After the humiliation of parents having to step in due to a teacher shortage in his own local school, John Swinney promised a recruitment campaign to address the problem.

“Now we see the results of that campaign – universities unable to fill placements on teacher training courses.

“This is the reality of an SNP government more interested in running a referendum campaign than running Scotland’s schools.”

NOTES 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/hundreds-of-teaching-posts-unfilled-across-scotland-003rvd6cl