SNP's £100million bill for spin doctors amid crisis gripping Scotland's health service

Daily Mail​

15-05-2025

More than £100million of taxpayers' money has been spent on spin doctors by Scotland's public sector while the NHS and other services are in crisis.
SNP ministers have been urged to stop squandering so much money defending their 'atrocious' record after the extraordinary spin bill was racked up over the last three years.
An army of 642 spin doctors is now employed by the Scottish Government and 93 other Scottish public bodies, including councils, quangos and health boards, to promote the work that they are doing in the media.
The annual cost of press and communications staff has rocketed by nearly a fifth over the course of just three financial years, from £30.7 million in 2021/22 to £36.7 million in 2023/24.
Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Craig Hoy said: 'Taxpayers will be astonished that, at a time when they are making swingeing cuts, the SNP Government are squandering an absolute fortune on spin doctors.
'This is money that could be spent on frontline services but is instead effectively being used to try to defend the SNP.
'It's breathtaking hypocrisy from John Swinney, who, before he came into office, was an arch-critic of public money being lavished on spin doctors. The Scottish Conservatives believe in getting value for money for taxpayers by spending funds on public services, rather than vanity projects.
'But while our NHS is in crisis, John Swinney's priority is to waste taxpayers' cash trying to defend his party's atrocious record. It's just another example of the bloated public service the Nationalists are presiding over.'
The Scottish Government's own press and communications bill was £11,971,508 in the three years to the end of 2023/24. It increased from £3,739,924 in 2021/22 to £4,097,722 the following year and £4,133,862 in 2023/24.
Over the three year period, the 32 local authorities spent just under £32 million on press and communications, while 10 NHS boards which provided figures spent £7.8 million.
The full time equivalent number of press and communications staff increased from 609 in 2021/22 to 642 in 2023/24.
The lavish spending came over a period where the SNP Government imposed income tax hikes, with everyone earning more than £30,300 now paying more in Scotland than the rest of the UK.
All 32 local authorities have also forced through a series of council tax rises, including an average increase of £116 in the financial year which began last month with individual councils imposing rises of up to 15.6 per cent.
At the same time, Scotland's NHS has been mired in crisis with major concerns about waiting times for key treatments, delays in accident and emergency wards, and growing pressure on GPs and the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Mr Hoy said that the £100 million spent on spin is the same amount as the SNP has budgeted to 'mitigate' the Labour Government's cuts to the winter fuel payment, and also how much they were prepared to spend to support mid-market rents in a housing emergency.
He added: 'But when it comes to protecting their reputation with taxpayers' money, the SNP are happy to spend like a sailor on shore leave.'
The biggest spend on press and communications by any public body in 2023/24 was the Scottish Government's £4.13 million bill, followed by Police Scotland's bill of up to £3.79 million, Glasgow City Council at £1.52 million, City of Edinburgh Council at £1.41 million and NatureScot at £1.29 million.
Other seven-figure sums were spent by exams quango the Scottish Qualifications Authority, at £1.27 million and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, at £1.06 million.
Of the 10 health boards to provide figures, total spending increased from £2.39 million in 2021/22 to £2.59 million in 2022/23 and £2.83 million in 2023/24.
The biggest bill for a single health board last year was £654,790 at NHS Lanarkshire, followed by £361,145 at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and £356,946 at NHS Grampian.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'Effective communication, including through work with journalists and through social media, is essential to raise awareness of government policies and to encourage uptake of key public services.
'Public sector organisations have a vital role in delivering on their priorities for the people of Scotland. Decisions on spending on communications are operational matters for individual organisations to make.'