Row breaks out after SNP accuses Jack over cost of ‘spin doctors’
The rising costs of communicating with the public by both the Scotland Office and the Scottish Government have sparked a war of words between Scottish Secretary A lister Jack and SN PM P Mhairi Black.
Ms Black said it was vital Mr Jack explain why the Conservative government was “continuing to waste millions of pounds of taxpayers' money on the Scotland Office” after a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the SNP revealed what she described as “huge and indefensible” increases in spending on what was a “zombie department”.
The SNP’S shadow Secretary of State for Scotland said the Scotland Office was redun -dant and was now "little more than a Tory propaganda unit”, pointing to a near tripling in spending on comm uni cations, from £509,343 in the year 2013/14 to £1,354,776 last year.
However, a UK Government spokesperson said the amount spent by the Scotland Office was a fraction of that spent by the Scottish Government on communications, with figures showing £2,645,087 for press officer staffing costs in 2017/18 and a further £5,731,087 in marketing and advertising costs.
The FOI data from the SNP shows overall spending of the Scotland Office has risen by 73 per cent from £4,949,000 in 2013/14 to £8,538,000 in 2019/20
As well as spending on communications rising, the number of ' spin doctors' has also increased, with the total number of Scotland Office communications staff rising from six in 2011/12 to 17 in 2019/20.
The total number of Scotland Office staff has risen from 58 in 2011/12 to 83 in 2019/20 and the total spending on advertising has gone up almost tenfold in just four years from £371 in 2015/16 to £36,704 in 2019/20.
Ms Black said: “The Scotland Office is now little more than a Tory propaganda unit and the huge increases in spending on spin doctors and advertising are completely indefensible, particularly when Scottish taxpayers are being forced to foot the bill."
The Scotland Office this year unveiled its news evens torey ,190,000 square foot, ultra-modern office space in the heart of Edinburgh, where 3,000 staff are expect-ed to work. Queen Elizabeth House, near Waverley Station, was completed in August and will house 11 UK government departments.
And a UK Government spokesperson said the use of digital communications was a cost-effective way to communicate important messages to the public, such as national awareness campaigns and policy initiatives, as well as working to help Scottish businesses get ready for Brexit.
She said: “This is a petty and baseless attack, and hugely disappointing at a time when public information has never been more important.
“The Secretary of State’ s communications team has been working flat out, and working closely with Scottish Government colleagues, to ensure that people and businesses across Scotland have the information they need to stay safe and deal with Covid-19.”