Government expenditure: 2016 to 2023

Public Relations

Public Relations expenditure supports the Scottish Government’s engagement with the public, it includes:

• staffing costs for frontline communications, who work flexibly across all portfolios depending on demand;
• social marketing which encourages people to take steps that will improve their lives;
• the provision of information about changes that people need to be aware of to support public debate about major policy proposals;
• digital communications; and
• corporate communications which support organisational and staff development to enhance the Scottish Government’s service to the public.

A breakdown of marketing expenditure incurred by the SG communications team by campaign is published annually on the Scottish Government website. 

Key drivers of spend variations are as follows:

• expenditure in 2015-16 supported communications around a number of major events including World War One commemorations and the Winter Festivals.
• expenditure in 2020-21 and 2021-22 increased due to the Covid campaigns in these years.

Public Relations	£
2015-16*	9,679,716
2016-17	7,068,737
2017-18	8,376,174
2018-19	9,339,358
2019-20	11,438,249
2020-21	27,723,289
2021-22	26,592,954
2022-23	10,322,464

*Restated on the same calculation basis as all other years

Overseas Travel

The total represents expenditure incurred on overseas travel by staff and ministers on official business in the core SG, covering travel to and from the United Kingdom, the cost of hotels, travel and subsistence and any other related expenditure.

The largest variation in spend relates to the impact of the Covid pandemic in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Overseas Travel	£
2015-16	1,012,924
2016-17	830,435
2017-18	1,049,060
2018-19	1,124,295
2019-20	976,732
2020-21	95,570
2021-22	53,522
2022-23	477,816

Hospitality and Entertainment

The total represents expenditure on hospitality and entertainment incurred by the core Scottish Government as recorded in the accounting system in accordance with internal procedures.

The largest variation in spend relates to the impact of the Covid pandemic in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Hospitality and Entertainment	£
2015-16	617,447
2016-17	527,170
2017-18	495,742
2018-19	949,613
2019-20	624,652
2020-21	95,643
2021-22	98,375
2022-23	270,455

External Consultancy

The total represents expenditure on consultancy incurred by the core Scottish Government as recorded in the accounting system in accordance with internal procedures, including expenditure directly coded to consultancy account codes and a review of all other expenditure areas for spend incurred with organisations that would be considered consultants.

Expenditure was then reviewed to ensure it covers spend as follows:

• Professional services such as management consultancy, IT consultancy, financial consultancy, construction or infrastructure related consultancy, research and evaluation and policy development (including feasibility studies)
• Based on the services being procured rather than the name of the supplier or the supplier’s own description of the service (to note previous FOIs for which spend is higher has, for example, included an ask for all spend under certain companies)
• It does not include outsourcing or buying in technical or specialist services such as legal advice and representation or recruitment services (spend reported elsewhere will be higher where it includes this definition).

External Consultancy	£
2015-16	5,941,123*
2016-17	5,091,835
2017-18	5,915,725
2018-19	9,394,203
2019-20	10,586,273
2020-21	6,057,281
2021-22	9,396,874
2022-23	8,570,806

Payments with a value over £25,000

The core Scottish Government proactively publishes a monthly report of payments with a value over £25,000. Annual reports are also published.

Remuneration – Employees

Details of employees who received remuneration in excess of £150,000 in the core Scottish Government in financial years 2015-16 to 2022-23 is set out below:

Remuneration in excess of £150,000	Number of People
2015-16	1
2016-17	1
2017-18	1
2018-19	2
2019-20	2
2020-21	1
2021-22	2
2022-23	3

Details of the salary and pension entitlements of the Scottish Government’s Senior Management Team are published annually within the Remuneration and Staff Report as part of the Scottish Government’s Consolidated Annual Accounts. 

Remuneration – Special Advisers

The total remuneration (salary costs, employer national insurance and employer pension contributions) paid to special advisers employed during each financial year (from 2015-16 to 2022-23) are as follows:

Remuneration-Special Advisors	£
2015-16	1,140,104
2016-17	897,714
2017-18	1,045,486
2018-19	1,105,289
2019-20	1,310,367
2020-21	1,618,713
2021-22	1,434,693
2022-23	1,909,843

Further information on the latest data is set out on the Scottish Parliament Website.