Ministerial salary increase timing and messaging records: FOI release

Information requested

Access to records related to the timing and public messaging of the recent ministerial salary increase. Specifically:

1. **Internal Communications:**
- Emails, meeting minutes, and memos between the Office of the First Minister and the Public Relations teams discussing how the timing of the announcement was chosen.
- Any correspondence considering potential public backlash or ways to mitigate negative reactions.

2. **Public Relations Strategy:**
- Draft speeches, talking points, and strategy documents on how the government planned to justify the increase to the public.
- Discussions about alternative messaging approaches that were considered but ultimately rejected.

3. **Media Engagement Discussions:**
- Records detailing when the decision was finalized and how media inquiries were expected to be handled.
- Any guidance provided to ministers on how to respond to criticism.

Response

Ministers voluntarily froze both the MSP and Ministerial elements of their pay in 2009 and kept them both frozen at 2008-09 levels for 16 years. Over this period, Scottish Ministers contributed over £2.2 million from their own pay packets to public spending.

The MSP element of Ministerial pay for all Ministers other than the First Minister has now been equalised with that of other MSPs and the First Minister took this decision on 2 April 2025 (the First Minister has chosen not to unfreeze his MSP pay to avoid any perception that he is benefitting from the decisions he has taken on Ministerial pay more broadly). This means that Ministers are receiving the same salary for their constituency work as other MSPs do. Ministerial pay in 2025-26 remains frozen for all Ministers for a seventeenth consecutive year in recognition of economic and fiscal pressures. In 2025-26, it is estimated that Ministers will contribute over £166,000 from their own pay to public spending.

Some of the information you have requested is available from the Scottish Parliament's website. The First Minister answered a question from Rona Mackay MSP on 3 April 2025 on the Scottish Government's position on MSP pay for its ministers for 2025-26, and whether the ministerial element of pay would remain frozen. The First Minister's answer is available on the Scottish Parliament's website at: Written question and answer: S6W-36629 | Scottish Parliament Website. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, this is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested under Parts 1 and 2 of your request.

I enclose a copy of the information that you requested under Part 3 of your FOISA request in the attached Annex. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under sections s.29(1)(a) (policy formulation), s.30(b)(i) free and frank provision of advice, and s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. These exemptions are subject to the ‘public interest test’. The Scottish Ministerial Code (paragraph 6.4) is clear that the internal processes through which a Government decision has been made should not normally be disclosed. Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the free and frank provision of advice, which in turn will undermine the quality of the policy and decision-making process. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemptions.

About FOI

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

FOI 202500462016 - Information released - Annex

File type

PDF

File size

4.1 MB