They are the quangos across Scotland that have spent the most in recent times on public relations – and the agency at the top of the list perhaps is not surprising.
National tourism quango VisitScotland, which helps promote and market the nation across the globe, has come out in first place on this top ten list, having spent £34.5m on public relations in 2022/23 alone. The next highest in terms of PR spending amongst Scotland’s quangos came in at £6.1m, in a sign of just how much expenditure came from the one tourism body.
In total, Scotland’s quangos spent over £67.3 million on public relations in 2022/23.
The analysis of quangos spanned 95 organisations, ranging from major executive non-departmental public bodies and public corporations such as Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Water, through to a host of executive agencies such as Education Scotland and Scottish Forestry.
Here are the top ten spending quangos on public relations in full.
9. Scottish Environment Protection Agency
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), which deals with a range of natural weather events, including floods, spent just over 1.2 million pounds on public relations in 2022/23, placing ninth highest Photo: Stock image
10. Highlands and Islands Enterprise
A rural image captured from Shetland. Highlands and Islands Enterprise - the non-departmental agency for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland - ranks tenth on the Scotsman's list, having spent £1,183,961 on PR over the applicable financial year. Picture: John Devlin Photo: John Devlin