The £1m spin doctors
Growing team of government advisers ... despite SNP promises to crack down
MORE than £1million has been spent by the Scottish Government on employing its growing ‘army’ of spin doctors.
Despite promises to crack down on the number of special advisers, the department has continued to expand.
Official figures show Nicola Sturgeon’s ‘spin team’ grew from ten in June 2016 to 14 in November 2017 – at a cost of £1,045,486 to the taxpayer. This is up from £897,714 the previous year.
Four of the advisers earn between £65,017 and £83,963, with three on up to £67,709.
The remaining seven earn between £39,445 and £52,904. The average wage in Scotland is just over £23,000.
The revelation comes after special advisers were accused of unfairly intervening in the release of public information and having undue influence on government policy. Yesterday, critics hit out at the massive cost of such advisers, claiming there was a ‘jobs for the boys’ culture which has seen a number of former senior SNP figures given government roles.
Scottish Tory chief whip Maurice Golden said: ‘The SNP came to government saying it would crack down on this kind of thing.
‘Instead, it can’t help itself, constantly adding to its taxpayerfunded ranks.
‘People will see these increases, and indeed the number of former SNP figures who’ve landed these roles, and conclude it’s very much jobs for the boys.’
Miss Sturgeon has made a series of new appointments to her team of advisers, including former MP Callum McCaig, ex-MSP Stewart Maxwell and independence campaigner Kate Higgins.
The Scottish Daily Mail launched a campaign exposing a culture of secrecy within public bodies and authorities across Scotland after it was revealed that special advisers are playing an increasing role in government, including vetting ‘politically sensitive’ freedom of information requests from journalists, politicians and researchers.
Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said: ‘The people of Scotland want transparency, not their tax money paying an army of people to try to hide the truth.’
After the SNP came to power in the 2007 Holyrood election, it promised to slim down government. In Alex Salmond’s first year as First Minister, he cut the number of Cabinet secretaries and junior ministers, and also reduced the number of special advisers to nine, costing £480,251.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The First Minister appoints special advisers to support the work of the Government in delivering better outcomes for Scotland. Costs for special advisers in 2017-18 were lower than the level of 2015-16.’