Statistics of media staff employed by the Scottish Government: FOI release

Information requested

1. The total number of staff employed by the department with the words "media", "communications", or "press" in their job title as of 01 February 2024. The total salary costs of those staff.

2. The total number of staff employed by the department with the words "media", "communications", or "press" in their job title as of 01 February 2025. The total salary costs of those staff.

Response

Please find below table which details the total number of full-time equivalent (FTE) headcount employed by the Scottish Government with “Media” “Communications” or “Press” in their job titles, split out by grade.

The numbers of FTE staff in the Scottish Government varies throughout the financial year and the figures represent staff numbers on just one day of each year. This means that these figures are a 'snapshot': they do not represent either a total number or average number of staff employed in the year.

The ‘snapshot’ information has been provided as of 31st January 2024 and 31st January 2025 from the available HR data.

31st January 2024: Scottish Government core staff by grade with job name including 'Communications', 'Media' or 'Press'

Grade	Staff (FTE)
A4	<5
B1	23.03
B2	42.6
B3	49.97
C1	40.89
C2	9.46
SCS	<5

31st January 2025: Scottish Government core staff by grade with job name including 'Communications', 'Media' or 'Press'

Grade	Staff (FTE)
A4	<5
B1	10.46
B2	45.53
B3	74.08
C1	42.5
C2	14.43
SCS	<5

The FTE provided is across the full Scottish Government and is not restricted to staff within the communications division. The FTE involves any staff linked to any communications related activity.

Salary Costs:

Scottish Government main salary bands pay range from 2023-2025 are provided within a previous FOI response - Scottish Government Main pay ranges 2023 to 2025: FOI release - gov.scot

In addition, indiviguals identified as specalist communications staff, as set out by the Government Communications Service (GCS) will also be in receipt of a professional pay supplement as follows:

• B2: £2,000 per annum pro rata rising to £3,750 on completion of 12 months' successful service.
• B3-C3: £3,000 per annum pro rata rising to £5,000 on completion of 12 months' successful service.

Pay supplements are temporary and reviewed every three years. They are paid monthly in addition to basic pay.

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