Annual cost and nature of work on independence prospectus: FOI release

Information requested

Following the Minister for Independence appearance on The Sunday Show where he alluded to the fact that 20 civil servants were still working on an independence prospectus, notwithstanding the fact that the UK Supreme Court had advised that the Scottish Government cannot hold a referendum can you advise:

1. How much the salaries for these roles are costing annually.
2. Whether this is being paid for by the Scottish taxpayer or the SNP.
3. What activities these 20 people are actually undertaking?

Response

Part 1

The salary costs for Constitutional Futures Division (CFD) for the 2022/23 Financial Year was £1,393,090.24

Part 2

Civil service pay comes from the Scottish Government budget. Further information on Scottish Government staff costs is available in the Scottish Budget: Scottish Budget: 2023-24 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Part 3

Constitutional Futures Division co-ordinates work on the Government’s independence prospectus, drawing on a range of other officials across the organisation who will contribute to varying extents as part of their wider responsibilities in supporting the Scottish Government.

Officials in CFD also contribute to other priority work, including on the Retained EU Law Management Programme, devolution policy, intergovernmental relations, and provision of information for the Covid public inquiries.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.