Nursing pay comparisons and prescribing queries: FOI release

Information requested

1. Could you supply all documentation held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, about the development of an NHS app, from the last month?

2. Could you supply how much the government is spending on health per person in each of the last five years, and how much the UK is spending on healthcare per person in each of the last five years?

3. Could you supply all documentation held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, about pay comparisons between England and Scottish nurses, from the last six months?

4. Could you supply all documentation held by the Scottish Government, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis about prescribing less prescriptions, from the last six months?

Response

Please find below responses to each point of your request in order.

1. NHS App

Your request has been treated as a Freedom of Information request. This means we have taken time to search across relevant Scottish Government policy areas and officials for relevant information and documentation that would be relevant to your query.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we have assessed that this query would breach the maximum cost for provision of the documents that would be relevant to your request (please see Section 12 of FOISA – Excessive cost of compliance).

It should be noted that as your request is related to the development of the Health and Social Care App, much of the information will be more widely available via online publications and strategies. The following information has been provided to help with your query despite reaching the upper cost limit, and we hope that you find this helpful.

Some key links to latest information has been included below:

• Operational Improvement Plan
• Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework
• Population Health Framework
• Digital Health and Care Delivery Plan 2024-25
• Digital health and care strategy

I can also confirm that NES are working closely with NHS Boards to develop a full roll out plan for the app, which will be published in September 2025.

I hope that you find this respond to be helpful. However, please let me know at your earliest convenience whether there is anything more specific that I can look into for you.

2. Health Spending per Capita

The information you have requested on spending per person for the most recent years for which information available is already published in the UK Government’s country and regional analysis statistics, available at the following site: Country and regional analysis - GOV.UK

The relevant information is available in Table A15, category 7, in each of the relevant years.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

3. Nursing Pay Comparisons

Some of the information you have requested is attached to this response.

Some of the information you have requested is available in public FOI disclosures that have been published on the Scottish Government’s website and are available here. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

An exemption under section 30(b) of FOISA (free and frank provision of advice) applies to the rest of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank provision of advice. This exemption recognises the need for officials to have a private space within which to provide free and frank advice to Ministers and other officials before the Scottish Government reaches a settled public view.

Disclosing the content of free and frank advice relating to pay comparisons between nurses in England and Scotland is likely to substantially inhibit the provision of such advice in the future, particularly because the advice given contains many uncertainties and caveats, and these discussions relate to a sensitive or controversial issue such as pay negotiation with NHS staff.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because it would outline the Scottish Government’s internal discussions about pay for NHS staff. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring official and ministers are able to securely consider free and frank advice and views.

4. Prescribing

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under section 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption applies are explained below.

An exemption(s) under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. their names and contact details, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018.

This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202500474618 - Information released - Annex

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