RCN Scotland briefing for MSPs - Scottish government budget 2025-26

Briefing from RCN Scotland for MSPs ahead of the Scottish government budget 2025-26 announcement. 

In this briefing circulated to MSPs ahead of the Scottish government budget announcement on 4 December, we set out what we believe is needed for the budget for health and social care along with the overarching rationale for each of our asks.

Funding our health and social care services is a political decision and the costs of not investing in nursing are significant, both in terms of the long-term impact on service delivery and the very real risk of harm to patients and residents being cared for today. Safe nurse staffing levels should be non-negotiable. This budget must prioritise health and care services and we are calling on the Scottish Government to make the following commitments

• Provide the financial resources to deliver the recommendations that emerge from the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce
• Deliver fair pay for nursing staff across health and social care
• Take urgent action now to tackle the major challenges facing the social care sector, rather than wait until the creation of a National Care Service
• Eradicate the unacceptable provision of care in inappropriate places
• Improve support for student nurses
• Ensure that efforts to make financial savings do not risk patient safety.