NHS Scotland spends about �25m a year on agency nurses

But Malcolm Chisholm said the Scottish Executive was taking action to cut the use of agency staff by driving up pay and conditions for NHS nurses.

The minister's comments came after the Scottish Nursing Guild agency claimed on its website that one nurse from Wishaw had earned �1,611.10 in one week.

Mr Chisholm said cash spent on agency nurses was "certainly not" the best use of public money.

He confirmed that NHS Scotland spent �25m on freelance staff in the financial year 2001-2002.

The fundamental answer here is to do with flexible working, pay, continuing professional development and more nurses Malcolm Chisholm Scottish Health Minister

Mr Chisholm added: "They're too high. I think we have made progress within the last year, both at national and local level.

"This is to do with improving the circumstances and conditions for nurses, to do with offering them more flexible working hours, continuing professional development, and better pay of course.

"There's action on a whole series of fronts. It's been a major focus for me over the last year."

"Obviously there will always be some circumstances in which you have to take on nurses on a short term basis."

Recruitment battle

And he said that that was the reason for proposed "co-ordinated nurse bank arrangements" which would be an in-house service without private profit.

But he offered a word of caution: "Nobody is saying that is the answer. The fundamental answer here is to do with flexible working, pay, continuing professional development and more nurses."

The NHS and agencies will compete to recruit nurses at a major conference in Glasgow later this week.

Several private agencies and a number of Scottish NHS trusts have reserved exhibition space at the Nursing Times Live Scotland 2003 event.

A spokeswoman for Scottish Nursing Guild said the agency did not wish to make any comment.