202500478046 · FOI · unclear
Evidence of 5% reduction in civil servant headcount: FOI release
Information requested
During Joe Griffin's appearance in front of MSPs on June 24, he said about reducing the number of civil servants the “direction of travel” was to reduce this, telling MSPs: “We’re down some 5% over the course of the last three years."
Could you supply the evidence to back this up?
Response
All of the information you have requested is available from Scottish Government workforce statistics - gov.scot which are published on a quarterly basis. The 5% calculation can be evidenced as below, extracted from the spreadsheet available:
Directly Employed Staff (Headcount) Contingent Workers (Headcount) Total Mar-22 8846 2031 10877 Mar-25 9290 1075 10365
The total is rounded to 5%.
Since 2022, enhanced recruitment controls were introduced that have managed reductions in the total workforce. From March 2022 to March 2025, the total workforce has reduced by 5%. The reduction in the total workforce has prioritised reductions of the contingent workforce such as more expensive contractors and consultants.
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
Attachments
No attachments found.