FOI/202600510533 · FOI · unclear
Details of pay supplements paid to those in qualifying roles: FOI release
Information requested
Please provide the information on recruit / retention / supplement for roles that have receive pay specialist supplement over their standard remuneration. This is for core SG and agencies. Please breakdown as following:
1) Profession families that receive the allowance for example, Digital, Communications, Procurement and others and the amount of allowance for each area:
2) Total staff within these families that receive the allowance, further broken down by core SG and agencies
3) Total expenditure for last 5 years to end of 25/26 broken down by year
4) Review points for renewal or change of allowance rates for each respective specialist family
Response
We have interpreted the term agencies in your request to mean the agencies and Non-Ministerial Offices (NMOs) that along with the core Scottish Government (SG) Directorates make up the SG Main bargaining unit. These Agencies and NMOs are as follows:
Agencies Non-Ministerial Offices Accountant in Bankruptcy Community Justice Scotland Disclosure Scotland Food Standards Scotland Education Scotland National Records of Scotland Scottish Public Pensions Agency Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator Social Security Scotland Revenue Scotland Student Awards Agency for Scotland Scottish Fiscal Commission Transport Scotland Scottish Housing Regulator
Questions 1 & 2
The table below details the profession families and the total number of staff within these families that receive a pay supplement, broken down by Core SG and agencies/NMOs as at 31st March 2026:
SG Core
Profession Family 2026 Audit 17 Communications 159 Digital Data & Technology 846 Science & Engineering 65 Procurement 125 Built Environment 7
Agencies & NMOs
Profession Family 2026 Communications 43 Digital Data & Technology 681 *Education Scotland 114 Science & Engineering 27 Procurement 40 Built Environment 84 *Social Security Scotland - Health 213
*These are pay supplements that are paid to certain qualifying roles, but the supplements are not part of a defined SG profession, but we have added these for completeness.
The table below details the pay supplement amount range within each of the profession families:
Profession Family Pay Supplement Amount Range Audit £750 - £1,750 Procurement £2,250 - £5,250 Built Environment £2,250 - £7,862 Digital Data and Technology £3,000 - £5,000 Communications £2000 - £5,000 Science & Engineering £4,250 - £5,000 *Education Scotland £2,000 *Social Security Scotland - Health £1,500 - £4,500
*These are pay supplements that are paid to certain qualifying roles, but the supplements are not part of a defined SG profession, but we have added these for completeness.
Question 3
The total value of pay supplement payments paid to qualifying roles by profession over the last 5 years is as follows:
Profession Family 2021/2022 2022/2023 2023/2024 2024/2025 2025/2026 Audit £37,658 £37,793 £33,665 £28,040 £26,881 Communications £707,120 £777,232 £814,986 £875,063 £895,800 Digital Data & Technology £3,038,944 £4,900,667 £6,017,411 £7,157,262 £7,614,518 *Education Scotland £192,715 £225,623 £218,619 £217,998 £234,331 Science & Engineering £197,337 £220,376 £270,945 £325,330 £444,553 Procurement £483,366 £531,937 £521,938 £572,284 £595,320 Built Environment £262,544 £393,783 £414,205 £417,037 £458,566 *Social Security Scotland Health £7,768 £145,622 £437,988 £572,741 £713,129
*These are pay supplements that are paid to certain qualifying roles, but the supplements are not part of a defined SG profession, but we have added these for completeness.
Question 4
Pay supplements may be awarded if a post is affected by recruitment and retention difficulties. They are used to attract and retain candidates with the specialist skills needed to fill posts subject to market pressures and are only paid where there is strong, supporting, and up to date evidence (e.g. which demonstrates that the maximum of the relevant Scottish Government pay range is below the median of the relevant market by at least 5%).
Pay Supplements are subject to regular review, generally every 3 years, in line with the Scottish Government Pay Supplement policy to ensure that they remain appropriate and justified in light of up-to date evidence and may following review remain at the same level or alternatively be increased, decreased or withdrawn all together. The reviews for the Digital Data & Technology and the Food Standard Scotland – Vet (part of the Science & Engineering Profession Family) supplements have recently been completed. Reviews of pay supplements for other professions are either currently underway or are being scheduled.
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
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