Scotland's civil service grows by hundreds despite SNP pledge to cut it

Between June 2024 and June 2025, the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) civil servants rose by 430.

This was the largest annual increase in any devolved sector.

At the same time, staffing in sectors such as colleges and local government fell.

Scottish Labour Finance spokesperson Michael Marra said: “Every day Scots face misery trying to access overstretched frontline service, but the SNP is more interested in growing its own bloated operation.

“While our NHS is at crisis point and crime is on the rise, it is woefully out of touch to opt for more government bureaucrats over nurses and police officers.

“This clueless SNP government simply has the wrong priorities.

“A Scottish Labour government will treat public money with the respect it deserves and put frontline services first.”

At the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee this week Finance Secretary Shona Robison reiterated the Scottish Government’s pledge to reduce administration costs by 20 per cent in five years, insisting the cuts were “more than achievable”.

Since 2019, Civil Service employment has risen at a faster rate than any other area, soaring by 44 per cent in that time.

The number of people working in the Scottish Civil Service was 18,900 in 2019. By 2024 this had risen to 26,900. It rose by another 430 by the end of the second quarter this year.

The number of FTE staff in Scotland’s further education fell by 140 to 9,300 in the last year. This was a drop of 1.5 per cent.

It was 1,200 lower than in 2019, when 10,500 FTE staff were employed by colleges.

It comes as many of Scotland’s colleges face financial difficulties. A report last month showed that most further education colleges are facing unsustainable losses over the next three years, while several have warned they could run out of cash by the end of this financial year.

Some 22 of Scotland’s 24 colleges expect to spend more than their income this year.

This has led to some institutions having to drastically cut back. Forth Valley College is considering closing its Alloa Campus because of financial constraints.

The number of FTE local government staff fell by 1,560 to 213,000 last year. This was a drop of 0.7 per cent. But compared to 2019 there are 10,000 more FTE people employed in local government in Scotland.

The total number of FTE devolved public sector jobs went down by 30 last year to 467,400. But there are 10 per cent more FTE staff in Scotland’s public sector than there were in 2019 - an increase of 44,300.

The number of FTE staff in the police and fire services went up by 400 - 1.5 per cent - to 26,800 last year.

But the figure is still down by two per cent from 27,300 in 2019.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said:

“Public sector workers have a vital role in the funding, development and delivery of key services ranging from education, health and social care, to transport and safeguarding the natural environment – also providing impartial expert advice to the public, Parliament, and Ministers.

“They have responded to many significant issues in recent times, such as the pandemic, impacts of the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis, while taking on more devolved responsibilities in areas such as social security, equal opportunities, consumer advocacy and advice, and expanded tax powers.”