SNP government spends £1m on publicity – in a month

Published on Friday 18 June 2010 22:56

A TOTAL of £1 million was spent by the Scottish Government on advertising and marketing in only one month, new figures have revealed.

Some 312,000 went on payments to companies to develop Scotland's international image, according to details of all government expenditure posted online for the first time yesterday.

Ministers revealed the April spending total of 2.6 billion as part of a drive for more "open and accountable government," with figures now due out every month. A total of 269,000 was spent on government travel and about 380,000 on casual agency staff.

The decision to publish the spending online and increase scrutiny of spending was agreed by ministers in return for Tory backing for the SNP budget.

Tory finance spokesman Derek Brownlee said: "These measures alone could save millions of pounds by making public spending truly accountable for the first time and address abuses of public money which are becoming more and more apparent."

The figures showed the bulk of the cash went on revenue funding for health boards, councils and housing associations from annual government grants to cover the financial year.

Other expenditure included 785,000 to Volunteer Development Scotland, 50,000 to Christian Aid Scotland, 31,000 to the Scottish Sculpture Workshop and 27,000 to Royston Stress Centre in Glasgow.

The Scottish Futures Trust, set up to help phase out PPP/PFI in schools and hospitals, received 353,000 in April.

Finance secretary John Swinney said publishing spending details was "a valuable exercise" that had resulted in several "innovative actions". He added: "We have made significant reductions, such as reducing the costs of central marketing by half and the Scottish Government travel budget by almost a fifth."