Question reference: S6W-09565
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 1 July 2022
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Current status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 18 July 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has requested that work be undertaken to research an 8,000 headcount reduction in the Scottish civil service.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not been requested to research an 8,000 headcount reduction in the Scottish civil service.
The Scottish Government regularly reviews its workforce numbers to ensure affordability, and that the organisation is delivering for the people of Scotland as efficiently and effectively as possible.
The UK Government has not provided details on how their plans to reduce the number of civil servants by 91,000 will affect their staff working in Scotland. There are around 24,800 [1] Civil Servants who are part of the reserved Public Sector in Scotland.
The UK Government plans do not have a direct impact on civil servants who serve the Scottish Government, as the responsibility lies with Scottish Ministers and the Permanent Secretary when it comes to determining our workforce size.
[1] Source: Public Sector Employment In Scotland Statistics For 1st Quarter 2022 .