Current status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what consultations with NHS staff took place before the decision to delay the implementation of the reduced 36-hour working week for Agenda for Change staff.
As set out in the answer to questions S6W-35253 and S6W-35256 on 11 March 2025, as part of the NHS Scotland Board Annual Review process, the feedback obtained from Area Partnership forums highlighted safety related concerns from a wide range of Agenda for Change colleagues on any reduction to the working week in 2025.
Extensive research was undertaken on the impact of the first 30 minute reduction of the working week for Agenda for Change staff. This included its impact on maintaining system performance, meeting legislative requirements around safe staffing and the delivery of planned initiatives to support service recovery. On review of this research it was clear that, to avoid unacceptable levels of risk to service resilience and patient safety, introducing the remaining hour on 1 April 2026 would be the most appropriate option.
To confirm, there is no delay in the implementation of the reduction of the working week to 36 hours for Agenda for Change staff. It was always the intention to use the initial 30 minute reduction in April 2024 as an opportunity to learn and assess how best to move forward with any further reduction in the working week.
The Scottish Government is therefore committed to fully implementing the remaining 60 minute reduction in the working week for all Agenda for Change staff on 1 April 2026. This will facilitate patient and staff safety, support the continued recovery of services and avoid any extra burden for our workforce.
This implementation date of 1 April 2026 remains fully in line with the commitment made as part of the 2023-24 Agenda for Change pay settlement and the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers