Tobacco Control Team staff information: FOI review

Information requested

Further to my emails of 28 June 2019 and 15 July 2019, I have now completed my review of our response to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) for the following information:

To request how many staff work in the Scottish Government on the:-

• Tobacco Control Team in 2019?
• Tobacco control Team in 2012 to 2018?
• To request how many staff working in the Scottish Government Tobacco Team in 2019 earn more than £20,000 per annum?
• To request how many staff working in the Scottish Government Tobacco Team in 2012 to 2019 earn more than £20,000 per annum?
• To request how many staff working in the Scottish Government Tobacco Team in 2019 earn less than £20,000 per annum?
• To request how many staff working in the Scottish Government Tobacco Team in 2012 to 2019 earn less than £20,000 per annum?

Tobacco Team Salaries

• To ask if any of the staff earning less than £20,000 per annum had their salaries reduced by £1,000 in the last two years?
• To ask if any of the staff earning more than £20,000 had their salaries increased by more than £5,000 in the last two years?

Response

I have concluded that the decision should be confirmed but further clarification should also be provided. The Scottish Government’s HR Business Partners and Corporate Analytical Services colleagues have been able to supply salary scale information for the team in question. They have confirmed that neither staff grades nor pay tables are considered sensitive. The Scottish Government publishes policy documents relating to public sector pay as a matter of course, including on staff pay remits. Further information is available at the following web address:
https://www.gov.scot/policies/public-sector-pay/staff-pay-remits/.

There have been no reductions in the values of any of the pay steps; the only waysomeone would incur a reduction in salary is if they had changed their working pattern to reduce the hours they work, or if they were demoted. Salaries increase when the annual pay review is applied or by being promoted. No one has had their salary reduced by £1,000 or increased by £5,000 in the last two years.

Table 1. Grade structure of directly employed staff in the tobacco control team.

2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
C2	B3	B3	C1	C1	C1	C1	C1
B2	B2	B3	B3	B3	B3	B3	B3
		B2	B2	B2	B2	B2	B2
				A4	B1	B1	B1

Table 2. Salary range for directly employed staff for the relevant grades as at the 31st of March for each of the relevant years.

31st March	Grade	Min	Max
2016	A4	19606	22034
2017	B1	23383	26448
2018	B1	23617	26713
2019	B1	24580	27515
2012	B2	25165	30267
2013	B2	25165	30267
2014	B2	25417	30570
2015	B2	25799	31029
2016	B2	27755	31340
2017	B2	27755	31811
2018	B2	28033	32130
2019	B2	28891	33094
2014	B3	32572	40575
2015	B3	32572	41184
2016	B3	34919	41596
2017	B3	34919	42220
2018	B3	35269	42643
2019	B3	36328	43923
2015	C1	44174	53918
2016	C1	46424	54458
2017	C1	46424	55275
2018	C1	46889	55828
2019	C1	46889	57503
2012	C2	52595	63743

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.