FOI/202600508168 · FOI · not held
Scottish Government and Transport Scotland advertising expenditure: FOI release
Information requested
How much money the Scottish Government (and bodies within its accounting boundary excluding NHS Health Boards) are spending on adverts in 2026 so far.
The cost of each advert should be provided (both production and the cost of buying the airtime on the TV channel/social media platform etc). Please also state which body paid for the advert (ScotGov, Social Security Scotland, etc.)
Response
The answer to your question follows.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under 17(1) of FOISA (information not held) applies to some of the information held.
This response covers Scottish Government and Transport Scotland advertising expenditure only. The Scottish Government does not have information you asked for regarding Social Security Scotland or other public bodies. This information is not held by the Scottish Government because they are separate organisations with their own accounting arrangements.
Below is a table of money spent on adverts between 1 January and 31 March 2026, including agency fees, production costs and media buying. Please note that your request asked for costs incurred ‘so far’ in 2026, but we are unable to provide exact expenditure to a specific date as a number of campaigns are still live and costs have not yet been fully reconciled. The figures provided therefore reflect forecast spend for 1 January to 31 March 2026 to the end of the financial year.
Production costs cover work incurred between 1 January and 31 March 2026, including agency fees and external production costs. Media covers costs for purchasing media for campaigns running during the same period. Marketing spend is fully reconciled at the end of the financial year and published at Marketing spend - gov.scot
Scottish Government
Campaign 2026 Production Costs 2026 Media Costs School Attendance N/A £27,449.00 Parent Employability and Financial Support £79,800.00 £220,000.00 Teen Mental Health £79,800.00 £22,000.00 Dementia £24,190.00 £122,100.00 Detect Cancer Earlier N/A £12,219.00 Living Kidney N/A £6,300.00 Adult Mental Health £66,076.00 £117,927.00 Right Care Right Place £2,220.00 £75,613.99 Sexual Assault Referral Centre Scotland N/A £16,652.05 Tackling Misogyny £74,730.00 £186,566.16 Brand Scotland - Innovation £52,600.00 £757,563.75 Scotland’s Migration Service N/A £156,172.37 Business Engagement N/A £15,000.00 Study in Scotland £14,955.00 £235,328.32 International offices £15,000.00 £45,000.00 Climate Action £67,494.00 £572,504.00 £2 Bus Fare Pilot £4,951.00 £15,000.00 Teacher Recruitment £17,032.00 £315,000.00 Community Cohesion N/A £171,151.50 Cost of Living N/A £374,000.00 Scottish Government Priorities £9,740.00 £144,739.18
Transport Scotland
Young Drivers N/A £593,029.48 Distraction £25,950.00 £447,000.00
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact Please quote the FOI reference Central Correspondence Unit Email: contactus@gov.scot Phone: 0300 244 4000 The Scottish Government St Andrew's House Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG
Detected exemption language
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under 17(1) of FOISA (information not held) applies to some of the information held.
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