Nurses in Scotland will be financially better off than nurses in the rest of the UK from next year, according to the Health Secretary.

To coincide with International Nurses Day today (Monday May 12), Health Secretary Alex Neil has highlighted figures which show that from March 2015, nursing staff in Scotland could be up to £714 a year better off than their counterparts in the rest of the UK.

This is thanks to the decision taken by the Scottish Government to award all NHS staff in Scotland a one per cent pay rise in 2014/15 and 2015/16.

Health Secretary Alex Neil said:

“Nurses play a vital role in saving lives every single day of the year, and it is important that we continue to acknowledge the important role nurses across Scotland play, particularly when it comes to International Nurses Day.

“I was clear when Jeremy Hunt first suggested reneging on the one per cent pay offer for NHS staff in England that we would block that move here and that we would fully implement the modest increase in Scotland.

“We have already delivered on that approach in Scotland’s NHS, and this means that from March 2015, nurses in Scotland will be better off than their counterparts in the rest of the UK.

“In addition, under this Government, the number of qualified nurses and midwives in Scotland has increased by 3.7 per cent.

“Our commitment to this pay increase reflects the importance that we place on all NHS workers, including nurses and midwives, and underlines our commitment to frontline staff delivering services for the people of Scotland."

From 1 April 2014, NHS staff in Scotland received a one per cent pay uplift, while staff earning under £21,000 have also received an additional sum to increase their pay by £300 in total. This rise was included in the pay received at the end of April 2014.

The changes were implemented after the Scottish Government was the only administration in the UK to accept recommendations from the NHS Pay Review Body and Doctors’ and Dentists’ Pay Review Body (DDRB).

This means in Scotland all staff have been given a one per cent pay rise consolidated, and pay progression – unlike the action taken in the rest of the UK where the one per cent pay rise has not been implemented.