Top jobs go at Scottish Enterprise

Published on Saturday 10 July 2010 14:22

SCOTTISH Enterprise will this week announce that it is to axe one quarter of its senior managers as the under-fire quango attempts to cut costs during the financial crisis.

Scotland on Sunday has learned that the Scottish-Government-funded development agency is to reduce its number of directors from 80 to 60 saving the organisation a yearly bill of up to 2 million in salaries, pensions and benefits.

The move, welcomed by politicians and business leaders yesterday, has come after the quango faced heavy criticism for the amount of taxpayers' money spends on salaries and bonuses. The 20 directors, whose positions are to be phased out over the coming year, are paid between 60,000 and 90,000 each.

Some will be urged to take voluntary redundancy with the longest serving directors receiving severance packages that will be a "maximum" of two years salary.

Scottish Enterprise, which has around 1,100 staff, said others may be redeployed elsewhere in the organisation, while there could be "other opportunities in the public sector" for the remainder.

As the economic climate has worsened, the Glasgow-based agency's use of public money has been subjected to increasing scrutiny by Holyrood. Last month, Scotland on Sunday revealed that Scottish Enterprise paid 912,300 on staff bonuses in 2008/09.

Scottish Enterprise's use of public funds was also questioned earlier this year when the agency was attacked for spending more than 100,000 on bringing hundreds of staff together for a team-building event criticised as a "giant jolly".

The latest cost-cutting moves come with the SNP administration having reduced the size of the agency by 40 per cent since coming to power in 2007.

Yesterday, Wilson said the decision to get rid of 20 "director positions" would make Scottish Enterprise more efficient.

The cuts will be felt across all the agency's departments, such as Scottish Development International and regional bodies, where director posts will be merged with one another.

"Like any other organisation in the current financial climate, we need to look at how we can operate as efficiently and effectively as possible whilst generating the biggest impact possible from our activities," Wilson said.

"These changes are about ensuring we can respond faster and more effectively to the opportunities to transform Scotland's economy."

The announcement follows Scottish Enterprise's decision to shed 18 director positions last year amid a shrinking budget. Opposition politicians welcomed the SE cutbacks and said other publicly-funded agencies should also examine whether all senior managers are needed.

David Whitton, Labour's enterprise spokesman said: "Obviously nobody likes to see anyone lose their job but I think every organisation has to examine their budgets.

"But when the new chief executive was hired on a salary of 200,000 they could have started at the top and worked their way down."

Murdo Fraser, for the Scots Tories added: "In line with much of the public sector, Scottish Enterprise is having to reduce costs. This would appear to be a prudent move on the part of the organisation."

He added: "We have argued for years that Scottish Enterprise needs slimming down and that it is over-bureaucratic. This is a move which should have happened many years previously."

Iain McMillan, director of CBI Scotland said: "Clearly Scottish Enterprise have thought this through. This is the kind of thing that will have to take place right through the public sector. Frankly, the kind of savings that need to be made can only be achieved if headcount is tackled. We all feel for those who are losing their jobs, but it is necessary."z