Scottish Government staffing numbers: FOI release

Information requested

1. Senior Civil Service Pay - updated from March 2023 or most recent compilation as the only recent list refers to March 2022 on the Scottish Government homepage.

2. Number of staff in each directorate of the Scottish Government.

3. Number of SCS staff in the Scottish Government.

4. Number and grades of private office staff within Ministerial Private Offices.

Response

Response to question 1:

An exemption under section 27(1) of FOISA applies to the information requested. This exemption applies because we intend to publish that information within 12 weeks of the date of your request. We consider that it is reasonable to withhold the information until that date, rather than release this routinely published information before the planned publication date.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. We recognise that there is some public interest in release and this will be met by our planned publication. In the meantime, there is a greater public interest in taking the time necessary to ensure the information has been properly collated and checked before it is published as planned. Also, we see no public interest in disrupting our programme of work to release the information ahead of the intended publication date.

Response to Question 2,3 and 4:

The Scottish Government publishes workforce information on a quarterly basis which can be accessed on the Scottish Government homepage. My below responses are therefore based on the most recently published data, which was 30th June 2023.

All staffing figures provided are headcounts and comprise both, staff in post and those on paid leave (including maternity and sick leave) or outward secondments. Headcounts reflect the total number of individual staff and do not account for differences in working hours (e.g. part time working). Headcounts should not be directly compared with full time equivalent (FTE) figures provided elsewhere as the latter are adjusted to account for this. Please refer to the notes of the publication for further information on the definitions and use of this data.

Please note, the information included in this response relates to the core directorates within the Scottish Government.

Response to Question 2:

Directorate	Headcount
Directorate For Covid Recovery And Public Service Reform	55
Directorate For Equality, Inclusion & Human Rights	113
Directorate For Local Government And Housing	303
Directorate For Social Security	477
Directorate For Tackling Child Poverty And Social Justice	126
Directorate For Ukraine Resettlement	83
Directorate For Communications And Ministerial Support	360
Directorate For Corporate Transformation And Workplace	226
Directorate For Covid Inquiries	34
Directorate For Digital	492
Directorate For Financial Management	155
Directorate For Legal Services (Solicitor To The Scottish Government)	342
Directorate For People	308
Directorate For Propriety And Ethics	12
Scottish Procurement And Commercial Directorate	196
Directorate For Chief Economist	90
Directorate For Economic Development	319
Directorate For Economic Strategy And Fair Work	82
Directorate For International Trade And Investment	76
Directorate For Children And Families	325
Directorate For Education Reform	70
Directorate For Justice	150
Directorate For Learning	136
Directorate For Lifelong Learning And Skills	122
Directorate For Safer Communities	169
Directorate For Chief Medical Officer	77
Directorate For Chief Nursing Officer	53
Directorate For Chief Operating Officer, NHS Scotland	70
Directorate For Digital Health And Care	43
Directorate For Health Finance, Corporate Governance & Value	88
Directorate For Health Workforce	79
Directorate For Healthcare Quality And Improvement	122
Directorate For Mental Health	193
Directorate For Population Health	278
Directorate For Primary Care	70
Directorate For Social Care And National Care Service Development	228
Directorate For Agriculture And Rural Economy (Are)	1054
Directorate For Energy And Climate Change	320
Directorate For Environment And Forestry	200
Directorate For Marine Scotland	769
Directorate For Offshore Wind	23
Directorate For Budget & Public Spending	37
Directorate For Fiscal Policy And Constitution	9
Directorate For Fiscal Sustainability And Exchequer Development	15
Directorate For Internal Audit And Assurance	64
Directorate For Tax And Revenues	26
Directorate For Constitution	75
Directorate For Culture And Major Events	54
Directorate For External Affairs	118
Directorate For Performance, Delivery And Resilience	148
Directorate For Strategy	27
Eu Directorate	10
Parliamentary Counsel Office	23
Not in a Directorate[1]	17

Response to Question 3:

As of 30th June 2023 the headcount of Senior Civil Service staff directly employed by the Scottish Government was 284. This includes staff on temporary promotion into the Senior Civil Service.

Response to Question 4:

Ministerial Private Offices refers to the division with that name within the Directorate for Communications and Ministerial Support. This includes those working within the Ministerial Private Offices and those working in support teams.

Substantive grade	Headcount
A3	[c][2]
A4	51
B1	14
B2	27
B3	22
C1	[c][2]
C2	8
C3	[c][2]
SCS - Deputy Director 1	1

[1] Staff positioned outwith a directorate are those who are working at the DG level or for administrative reasons are not associated with a directorate.

[2] [c] indicates a figure suppressed to protect confidential information. This has been applied where a figure relates to a small number of staff or where additional suppression has been required to prevent calculation of a figure suppressed for that reason.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.