Scottish International Offices: FOI release

Information requested

1. Confirmation on the number of staff working in the Scottish Government's international offices

2. The pay grades for each staff member in each international office

3. If staff employed at each of the international offices are taxed in the UK or in the country where the office is based

Response

There are currently 37 Scottish Government civil servants working in SG international offices and a further 18 country based posts that are advertised and recruited locally through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Office:	Staff Employed:
Beijing	4
Berlin	3
Brussels	18
Copenhagen	3
Dublin	3
London	13
Ottawa	3
Paris	3
Washington	5

You asked for the number of staff on each Scottish Government pay band in each of these offices and while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide a small amount of the information you have requested because an exemption under section 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. This is because it is personal data of a third party, specifically the salaries of individuals, and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018.

This exemption is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

I can however confirm the combined staff pay grades in all offices listed in your request. The combined totals are 1 x Director, 2 x Deputy Director, 34 x A-C Band and 18 x Country Based Staff and the ranges for these pay grades can be found below.

The country based posts are advertised and recruited locally through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The role profiles are involved in finance, administration and communication and engagement support. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office may have the information you are looking for in relation to locally employed staff. You can contact them at
information.rights@fcdo.gov.uk

Scottish Government Main Pay ranges from April 2022

	A3	A4	B1	B2	B3	C1	C2	C3
Max-3			28,702	33,120	41,642	52,355	68,540
Max-2	22,182	25,713	29,447	34,725	42,855	54,867	70,923	79,360
Max-1	23,335	26,481	30,440	36,330	44,888	58,849	74,002	80,255
Max	24,488	27,335	31,541	37,936	49,860	65,276	79,109	80,434

Senior Civil Service (SCS) Pay ranges with effect from 1 April 2020

Step	DD1	DD1A	Dir	DG
Target rate-4	£77,340	£77,340	£95,930	£122,605
Target rate-3	£78,814	£78,814	£97,822	£125,037
Target rate-2	£80,287	£80,287	£99,713	£127,468
Target rate-1	£81,760	£81,760	£101,604	£129,899
Target rate	£83,233	£83,233	£103,495	£132,330
Target rate +1 (DD1A)		£84,706

You asked for information on tax arrangements for those working in the Scottish Government's international offices.

Scottish Government civil servants who are recruited to work in an overseas office pay UK tax as per the attached guidelines from HMRC (Income Tax - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). In relation to country based staff, they are recruited locally through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and we do not hold that information. Tax arrangements for these staff mirror those employed in UK Government overseas offices. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office may have the information you are looking for, you can contact them at information.rights@fcdo.gov.uk.

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.