§ Mr. Norman HoggTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide data showing the average level of nurses' pay in Scotland; and if he will also express this as a percentage of the national average income.
§ Mr. Michael Forsyth[holding answer 15 February 1988]: I regret that information on average annual earnings of nurses in Scotland is not collected centrally. Examples of rates of pay for nursing staff in direct patient care areas at the current level payable from 1 April 1987 are shown in the table.
Grade Minimum of basic pay scale £ per annum Maximum of basic pay scale £ per annum Student Nurse 4,540 5,170 Nursing Auxiliary 4,565 5,855 Enrolled Nurse 6,250 7,750 Staff Nurse 7,300 8,600 Sister II 9,000 12,000 Senior Nurse 7 10,850 13,550 In addition, nurses receive payment for working unsocial hours and overtime. There are also allowances for staff employed in certain geriatric and psychiatric units.
The average gross weekly earnings of adults in full-time non-manual employment in April 1987 was £217.40. This figure includes overtime and other supplements to basic pay, and is not directly comparable to the salaries quoted above. For a typical married man earning the average gross salary quoted above, the 2 per cent. decrease in the standard rate of income tax introduced in the 1987 Budget led to an increase of £2.89 per week in take-home pay. For a typical single person the increase was £3.42 per week.