Nearly 10,000 workers in Scotland's ‘bloated' public sector are on six-figure salaries

Telegraph

5 hours ago

Nearly 10,000 staff in Scotland's 'bloated' public sector are on six-figure salaries, the most detailed survey ever of their pay packets has disclosed.
A total of 9,710 workers employed by the Scottish government, its quangos, councils, colleges, health boards and universities earn at least £100,000 a year.
More than 110,000 are paid over £50,000 a year at a total cost of more than £7 billion per year, the survey estimated.
Of the people earning six-figure salaries, 7,356 were employed by NHS boards or other health bodies, with a further 1,317 working at universities. The remaining 962 employees were from across other parts of the public sector.
The Scottish Government had 75 staff on six-figure salaries and the Scottish National Investment Bank, Scottish Water and Police Scotland each had 32 employees on more than £100,000.
David MacBrayne, the parent company of publicly owned ferry firm CalMac, had 703 staff earning at least £50,000, 163 earning more than £80,000 and 34 with a six-figure salary.
Ferguson Marine, the nationalised shipyard at the centre of the SNP ferry scandal, had more staff on six-figure pay packets (four) than the National Galleries of Scotland or the Scottish Legal Aid Board (both three).
ScotRail, the nationalised rail network, and economic development quango Scottish Enterprise each had 16 staff earning more than £100,000 and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service had 12.
The highest salary was handed to Prof Sir Gerry McCormac, the principal of Stirling University, who earns £414,000 per year.
The mammoth wage bill was calculated using figures obtained from 198 freedom of information requests to bodies that receive public funding in Scotland.
Stephen Kerr, the Tory MSP who compiled the survey, said it demonstrated 'the reality of a public sector pay culture spiralling out of control.'
He said six-figure salaries were now 'commonplace across Scotland's bloated public sector', with state employees also benefitting from 'gold-plated' final salary pensions unavailable in the private sector.
Scotland's public sector employees make up 22 per cent of the total workforce, compared to about 18 per cent in the UK as a whole. They are also paid £1,500 on average per year more north of the border.
It emerged this week that salary costs for the country's 469,100 public sector workers now account for 55 per cent of day-to-day spending, with the total annual pay bill reaching £29 billion.
The Scottish Government's new financial strategy disclosed that spending on public services is scheduled to be £2.6 billion higher than the available funding by 2029/30.
Shona Robison, the SNP Finance Secretary, unveiled plans to plug the shortfall by cutting staffing levels by an average of 0.5 per cent per year until 2030, the equivalent of around 11,600 job cuts over the period.
Call for restraint
But, unveiling the findings of the survey, Mr Kerr called for 'urgent restraint' on further public sector pay rises. He said: 'The myth that public sector salaries are the poor relation to private enterprise has been well and truly shattered.
'This is no longer just about fairness—it's about basic economic responsibility. Almost 10,000 public sector employees on six-figure salaries, (costing) billions in pay and pension obligations. This culture of excess without adequate scrutiny and accountability must end.'
He added: 'Hardworking Scots are paying more in tax than ever yet seeing fewer services in return. The SNP Scottish Government have let salaries in their public bodies and quangos spiral out of control and they must get a grip on the public sector pay bill and deliver a fairer deal for taxpayers.'
Around 1.5 million Scots earning at least £30,318 already pay more income tax than if they lived elsewhere in the UK. There are six tax bands in Scotland, double the total south of the border, and the top band is 3p higher.
Among the other public bodies paying at least one of their staff a six-figure salary were arts quango Creative Scotland (four), tourism agency Visit Scotland (five) and the Water Industry Commission for Scotland. Scottish Canals had two employees earning more than £100,000.
The survey showed the highest-paid civil servant in the Scottish Government was paid between £205,000 and £210,000. This is likely to be Joe Griffin, the permanent secretary and the most senior mandarin north of the border.
For Police Scotland, the largest salary was the £245,000 to £250,000 paid to the chief constable, Jo Farrell.
The highest-paid employee in local government was Susanne Millar, chief executive of Glasgow City Council, who earned between £205,000 and £210,000.
Earlier this year, Scotland's Information Commissioner said he was 'astonished' at the 'sheer number of public bodies' in Scotland. David Hamilton said there were thousands 'and I keep finding new ones.'
He also disclosed that he played 'public authority bingo' with the Auditor General, where they ask: 'Have you heard of this one? Have you heard of that one?' about quangos.
The Scottish Government did not respond to a request for a comment.
Scotland's NHS boards have defended their high number of staff earning six-figure salaries by arguing that they comply with the SNP's national pay policy.
NHS salaries
Tom Power, Director of People and Culture, NHS Lothian, said: 'NHS Lothian is the second-largest health board in Scotland and provides national, regional and specialist services, as well as lifesaving care for more than 900,000 people across Lothian, and the south-east of the country. We have a staff of 26,000 people and we are proud to have some of the most dedicated and skilled professionals on our team.
'NHS salaries and pay rates are set at a national level and conform to Scotland's national Public Sector Pay Policy.'
An NHS Grampian spokeswoman said: ''NHS salaries are set nationally and conform to Scotland's national Public Sector Pay Policy. These figures are adjusted and ratified through the National Performance Management Committee process.'
An NHS Highland spokesman said: 'Our employees, including senior clinicians and managers, are employed by NHS Highland on nationally agreed pay scales and terms and conditions which are commensurate with their role in the organisation and their level of experience.'
Sarah Leslie, human resources director for NHS Ayrshire and Arran, said: 'Senior manager pay is managed under specific terms and conditions and performance management processes which are subject to Board and National Performance review by the National Performance Committee.'
An NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde spokesman said: 'NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is the largest health board and employer in Scotland, with over 42,000 staff servicing 1.3 million people. Our staffing structure reflects our size and scope.
'We work within the frameworks set by the Scottish Government, including Agenda for Change and follow national terms and conditions set for all staff, including medics, dentists, and senior nurses as well as senior managers.'
An NHS Shetland spokesman said: 'Over the past several decades, UK medical training pathways have increasingly focused on developing specialist expertise, which has led to a national shortage of generalist-trained clinicians.
'This presents particular challenges for remote and rural areas such as Shetland, where recruitment into roles requiring a wide scope of practice, combined with significant out-of-hours and on-call commitments, can be difficult.'
NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Tayside and NHS Forth Valley also said they operated within Scotland's national Public Sector Pay Policy. Stirling, Glasgow and Edinburgh universities did not respond to requests for a comment.