18. Major Lloydasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress has been made in fixing national scales for trained nursing staffs in children's homes, in view of the awards which have been made during the past two years to trained nursing staffs in other establishments which had retrospective effect to 1st February, 1949.
§ The Joint Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Miss Herbison)The Nurses and Midwives Whitley Council are at present considering a claim for revised salary scales for nursing staff employed in day and residential nurseries and in nurseries attached to institutions. Any scales agreed as a result of these negotiations will no doubt influence the salaries to be paid by the local authorities to trained nurses employed as such in their children's homes.
Major LloydIs the hon. Lady aware—I suppose she is—of the very considerable dissatisfaction among the staffs of the various children's homes throughout Scotland at the great and substantial differential between their remuneration and that which has been granted by the Whitley Council to the staffs of hospitals for children? Can she use her influence to see that the differentiation is reconciled.
§ Miss HerbisonI am aware of the dissatisfaction among this body of workers, but the Secretary of State has no power whatever to prescribe rates or scales for them. We hope that the negotiations that are going on will be settled quickly by the Whitley Council and that the local authorities will follow immediately.