FOI/202600522930 · FOI · not held
Total headcount for the Scottish Government: FOI release
Information requested
A range of workforce data and associated policy documents.
I have set out the response to your request below and please note a number of related attachments.
Response
I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested.
In response to your request for a breakdown of workforce figures for Scottish Government Agencies and NDPBs, much of this information is publicly available via these links (Table 9 of this publication) Public sector employment - Office for National Statistics or here Public Sector Employment: Employment by organisation: 2019 Quarter 1 to 2025 Quarter 3 - gov.scot . Should you require anything further we suggest you contact these agencies directly.
For note:
The data showing workforce numbers reflects the position as at end March 2026. The data referencing extensions to Temporary Promotions (TPs) covers the period June 2025 to May 2026 and includes TPs which ended during this period. The total number, including TPs that weren’t extended (not presented in the numbers given), is the total number of TPs that were active across that 12 month period rather than at a single point in time. The abbreviations TP = Temporary Promotion
1. Total Workforce Numbers (Core SG and Agencies)
Please provide the current total headcount for the Scottish Government (core), broken down by:
Director General Division Branch
This information is provided in the attached document ‘202600522930 - Workforce and TP HRMI Data (Item 1,2,4)’
Please also provide the total headcount for each Scottish Government Agency, including but not limited to:
Disclosure Scotland Social Security Scotland Education Scotland Transport Scotland
If available, please include all other agencies, NDPBs, and executive bodies within the Scottish Administration.
As above, we recommend you review the above links and contact the relevant agency directly should further breakdown of the data be required.
2. Contractors and Contingent Labour
Please provide:
The current number of contractors or contingent workers engaged across core Scottish Government and each agency. A breakdown by DG area, division, and agency. Information on the roles or functions contractors are fulfilling.
This information is provided for SG Core in the attached document ‘202600522930 - Workforce and TP HRMI Data (Item 1,2,4)’.
Any policy or criteria used to determine when contractor resource is approved, particularly in the context of headcount reduction.
This information is provided in the attached document ‘202600522930 Saltire Extract Temp and Interim Worker Guidance July 2026 (Item 2)’.
Please also provide the annual pay total for all contingent/contractors and provide a comparison against costs if employed on a full time basis.
The Scottish Government is currently developing and assuring contingent worker and contractor reporting, which will be disclosed for the first time in the 2025-26 Annual Accounts. As this work is ongoing and subject to the Annual Accounts assurance and audit process, the information is not yet available in its final form. The data will be made publicly available following publication of the audited 2025-26 Annual Accounts.
3. Priority Movers
Please provide:
The number of staff currently on priority mover lists across core SG and all agencies. Break this down into a table. A breakdown by grade, DG area, and agency.
This information is provided for SG Core in the attached document ‘202600522930 - Priority Movers (Item 3)’, in a table.
Details of how priority mover lists are managed, including any differences in process between core SG and agencies. Any governance, criteria, or policy frameworks used to determine priority mover status.
Within the Core Scottish Government, priority mover status supports employees who no longer have a substantive post, mainly due to organisational change or restructuring. Once reassignment options within a Directorate and Director-General area have been exhausted, affected staff are given priority access to suitable vacancies through a dedicated reassignment process.
The arrangements are governed by the Scottish Government’s Restructuring and Reassignment Procedure and Priority Movers guidance.
Cases are approved and overseen by People Directorate and, where necessary, the Resourcing Assurance Committee. Suitable vacancies must be considered for priority movers before wider advertising.
This information relates to Scottish Government Core Directorates only.
Additional information is provided in the attached document ‘202600522930 Restructuring and Reassignment Policy July 2026 (Item 3)’ and ‘20260052930 Priority Movers Overview Saltire July 2026 (Item 3).
4. Temporary Promotions
Please provide:
The total number of staff currently on temporary promotion across core SG and ALL agencies. In table format. A breakdown by grade, including how many temporary promotions sit at C Band and above. In table format. For each temporary promotion: How many times the temporary promotion has been extended.
This information is provided for SG Core in the attached document ‘202600522930 - Workforce and TP HRMI Data (Item 1,2,4)’.
The reason for each extension, particularly where priority movers are available.
This information is provided for SG Core in the attached document ‘ 20260052930 Temp Promotions Reason for Extension (Item 4)’. The decision to extend a temporary promotion is governed locally. It is reviewed by the Human Resources Business Partner who would also review available Priority Movers at the time of the extension.
Any policy or guidance governing the use and extension of temporary promotions.
This information is provided in the attached document ‘202600522930 Temporary Promotion Policy – Saltire June 2026 (Item 4)’.
Information on why temporary promotions at C Band and above are not reduced or ended to support cost-saving and headcount reduction objectives.
The use of temporary promotions has reduced notably in recent years, including in the SCS and C Band, in support of cost reduction. Supplementary data has been made available, showing reductions on a year by year basis in the document ‘202600522930 Temporary Promotion - Number and Percentage by Grade and Year (Item 4)’. As an example, the use of temporary promotion within the C1 population has reduced from 13.8% in 2022 to 3.5% in 2026.
5. Recruitment and New Posts During Headcount Reduction
Given the Scottish Government’s commitment to reducing overall headcount, please provide:
How new posts (permanent, temporary, or fixed-term) are approved.
For Core Scottish Government, recruitment to Civil Service posts (permanent and temporary) requires two levels of approval. The first is approval from the relevant Director-General. Once this has been secured, recruitment requests are considered by the Resourcing Assurance Committee (RAC), which may approve the request, seek further information, or decline it.
Recruitment to Senior Civil Service (SCS) posts requires an additional level of approval from the Permanent Secretary.
What exception processes apply for recruitment or backfilling.
See answer in paragraph above.
Whether these processes differ across agencies, and if so, how.
Recruitment approval processes differ across Agencies and Delivery Bodies. These organisations operate their own recruitment governance arrangements and more information may be requested from them. However, recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts in all bodies remains subject to the Core Scottish Government governance process and requires approval from the Permanent Secretary.
Any governance structures overseeing exceptions to headcount reduction.
There is no separate governance structure overseeing exceptions to the required FTE reduction as no exception process exists.
6. Workforce Mobility and Public Service Reform
Please advise:
Why staff on priority mover lists are not routinely redeployed between core SG and agencies. Why teams with surplus staff are not moved to areas with vacancies to support headcount reduction and Public Service Reform objectives. Whether any structural, contractual, financial, or governance barriers prevent movement of staff between core SG and agencies. Whether any workforce planning analysis has been undertaken to identify opportunities for redeployment across the wider Scottish Administration.
This information is not held within the Core Scottish Government. As such, I hereby provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
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.
Detected exemption language
As such, I hereby provide you with formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.