Programme for Government production costs: FOI release

Information requested

How much does it cost to produce the Programme for Government including staff time in a dedicated team including pay grades and publishing costs?

Response

I enclose a copy of most of the information you requested.

The cost of producing the 2025-2026 Programme for Government is set out in the following table:

	Gross price
Programme for Government – main document publication cost	10,510.46
Programme for Government – impact assessments publication cost	568.13
Programme for Government – sources document publication costs	465.40
Total	11,543.99

Our aim is to provide information whenever possible. With regard to "staff time...including pay grades", I can confirm under section 17 (1) of FOISA that we do not hold this information.

Civil servants work on a wide range of events, issues and areas of work simultaneously and intermittently. While the coordination of the Programme for Government was led by officials within the First Minister's Strategic Policy Unit, they did so as part of broader roles and responsibilities. At the same time, the process of developing the Programme for Government relies on contributions from officials across the Scottish Government. In either case, it is not the practice of Scottish Government - nor would it be efficient to - itemise staff time across such varied roles. It is therefore not possible to identify and define the specific numbers, grades and salary time of civil servants involved in the various stages of developing the Programme for Government.

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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.