How long before First Minister Sturgeon held to account on 6 year-old equal pay promise for the NHS ?

Almost 6 years ago, Nicola Sturgeon was being given an easy time at a meeting with the Scottish Parliament's Equal Opportunities Committee.  They were pressing her, gently, on the slow progress the NHS in Scotland was making with publishing equal pay reviews.  Sturgeon clearly felt some visionary statement was required to reassure the government-dominated Committee that all was well and that the sunlit uplands of Scotland's Brigadoon 2 were soon to be open to us all.  She declared that, from the government's point of view, there is [at October 2009] :

"a clear expectation that all boards will get on and complete those reviews as quickly as they can, and that they will go beyond the letter of the law to ensure that they are exemplary employers that live up to all the duties required of them." 

Fast forward 6 years, pausing briefly in 2014 to wonder just how government managed to lose a two year long referendum campaign aimed at selling Brigadoon 2 to the Scottish people, and the data published by Scotland's health boards on equal pay gaps suggest that while she may expect, few of them will deliver.  

'.......... she may expect, few of them will deliver'

The table below, based on the most recent equal pay gap data published by health boards themselves, shows that just 2 health boards manage to get their pay gap to come below the 5% boundary set by the Equality & Human Rights Commission.  The full research report which shows just how much health boards pay attention to what government ministers promise of their performance can be found here.



























Maybe it is time for the Parliamentary Equal Opportunities Committee to invite the First Minister back and ask her just how just long she thinks it will take for the NHS to not only, as she put it, comply with the letter of the law on equal pay, but go beyond it and become exemplary employers that live up to all the duties required of them ?  Another 6 years ?  Another 26 years ?

how long she thinks it will take
for the NHS to not only, as she
put it, comply with the letter of the law
on equal pay, but go beyond it and
become exemplary employers that
live up to all the duties required of them ?
Another 6 years ?
Another 26 years ?
How long, Nicola, how long ?