Call to cut Executive's £2.4m publishing bill

Published on Tuesday 28 August 2007 00:51

THE Tories demanded the new Scottish Executive cut costs last night after it emerged that £9,000 is being spent every working day on government publications in Scotland.

The Scottish Executive put out 430 publications in the year to the end of May this year at a cost of 2.4 million.

Derek Brownlee, for the Scottish Conservatives, said this worked out at about 9,000 for every working day of the year.

The expenditure on each publication varies enormously, from 104,000 spent circulating the Executive's summary on emergency care around the country to 135 spent on a small sex-discrimination document.

But Mr Brownlee claimed much of this money was being wasted, particularly as the amount spent on publications has gone up from less than 1 million in 2001 to 2.4 million in 2006-7.

He said: "I accept that government has a duty to inform, advise and consult - but that is not a green light to waste so much taxpayers' money on glossy brochures.

"Taxpayers are fed up with governments which waste their money, engage in endless consultations and produce reports and reviews purely for the sake of it. The new minority SNP administration must learn that."

But a Scottish Executive spokes woman stressed the costs had been incurred under the previous administration.

She added: "We are committed to delivering value for money and ensuring efficient and effective use of taxpayers money.

"We will manage the production of publications efficiently to ensure savings are made where possible - without compromising the openness of government or public safety."