- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by George Adam on 23 August 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the names of each Special Adviser, also broken down by their (a) responsibility and (b) pay band, and what the total cost of employing special advisers is expected to be (i) in 2021-22 and (ii) over the course of the parliamentary session.
Answer
Special Advisers are appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 by the First Minister as a Special Adviser for the purpose of providing assistance to the Scottish Ministers.
Their specific responsibilities are as follows:
Name | Role |
Colin McAllister | Chief of Staff to the First Minister - First Minister's Strategic Programme in Government including Inter-governmental relations
- Co-ordination of the Special Adviser team
|
Liz Lloyd | Strategic Policy & Political Adviser to the FM - Strategic advice to the First Minister on transformational policies and projects
|
Stuart Nicolson | Head of Communications - Senior Political Spokesperson for the First Minister
- Co-ordination of the Special Adviser Communication Team
|
Jeanette Campbell | Special Adviser - Social Justice, Housing and Local Government portfolio
|
Ewan Crawford | Senior Special Adviser: - Constitution and External Affairs portfolio (except Culture)
|
Leanne Dobson | Special Adviser - Finance & the Economy portfolio
- Programme for Government
|
Jennie Gollan | Special Adviser - Justice portfolio (inc veterans)
- Culture portfolio (except Broadcasting)
|
Kate Higgins | Special Adviser: - Rural Affairs and Islands
- Transport portfolio
|
Davie Hutchison | Special Adviser: - Health and Social Care portfolio
- Broadcasting policy
- First Minister's Questions
|
Ross Ingebrigtsen | Deputy Political Spokesperson for the First Minister - Strategic communications planning
- First Minister's Questions
|
David Livey | Special Adviser - Education and Skills portfolio
|
John MacInnes | Special Adviser: - Political Research
- Support for First Minister's Questions and Parliamentary debates
- Support to communications and policy Special Advisers
|
Emily Mackintosh | Special Adviser: - Media communications including communications support for the First Minister
|
Callum McCaig | Special Adviser: |
John McFarlane | Special Adviser: - Net Zero portfolio (except Transport)
- Parliamentary Business and Parliamentary Liaison
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The Special Adviser Pay Bands and Ranges and the number of Special Advisers within each Pay Band currently in place are:
Pay band | Pay Range (£) | Number of Special Advisers |
1 | £41,442 – £55,582 | 1 |
2 | £55,583 – £68,307 | 8 |
3 | £68,308 – £91,336 | 4 |
3 (premium) | £90,565 – £104,542 | 0 |
4 | £90,565 – £108,062 | 2 |
The cost for employing Special Advisers in 2019-20 can be found in the answer to question S5W-36009 on 24 March 2021. The total cost for 2021-22 and for the rest of the Parliamentary term is not yet known.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers