Knowledge of Scottish politics 'non-essential' in job adverts for UK's 'Union Unit'

Job adverts for high-profile civil service roles at the heart of the UK Government’s new ‘Union Directorate’ have stated that knowledge of Scottish politics is “desirable” rather than essential.

Boris Johnson's new 'union unit' does not deem knowledge of Scottish politics 'essential' in its job adverts.

The roles, which will see successful applicants posted across the country to different devolved nations, including to Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, include a ‘head of policy’ role.

The job descriptions, posted on February 6, include a requirement to “think and do” and know how to “listen, understand, question, explain, persuade and get things done”.

Any successful candidate will go on to work for the Cabinet Office’s “newly formed” Union Directorate, dedicated to “maintaining the integrity of the United Kingdom”.

Roles available include head of policy, head of strategy and analysis, and head of engagement and strategic communications. The average pay for a civil servant at this level is around £55,000, according to the Institute for Government.

The job advert states: “We are seeking candidates for exciting and stretching opportunities within the newly formed Union Directorate in the Cabinet Office. This is a high-profile team at the very heart of government and central to maintaining the integrity of the United Kingdom.

“The Union Directorate is a small, focused team of policy professionals, analysts, comms experts and external secondees with a focus on making the benefits of the Union clear, visible and understood.

"The Union Directorate is responsible for the overall Union strategy, as well as driving delivery across Whitehall and beyond, and working collaboratively and creatively to promote the 'levelling-up' agenda and post Covid-19 recovery and renewal across the United Kingdom.”

In the skills part of the job description, the advert states an applicant must “demonstrate good political judgment, curiosity and independence of thought, and the ability to deploy those skills under pressure, sometimes in new subject areas in the face of a range of competing views and priorities”.

The advert then adds: "Desirable: have understanding of policy issues relevant to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.”

Last week, the SNP accused the UK Government of allowing a “Vote Leave” takeover of the unit following the sacking of former Scottish Tory MP Luke Graham. Mr Graham has been replaced by Oliver Lewis, who worked for the Brexit campaign and was deputy negotiator with Brussels.

The removal of Mr Graham sparked some disquiet amongst Scottish Conservatives who were concerned about the lack of expertise on Scottish issues within the unit.

Staff within the unit are expected to help develop policies which help strengthen the UK and add expert analysis on policies from other departments that may affect the union.

The SNP’s deputy leader, Keith Brown, labelled the job advert as a sign of “Westminster arrogance” and said the unit was “clueless”.

He said: "Michael Gove's Union Unit is clueless and doomed to fail.

"It reeks of Westminster arrogance that the Tories are willing to hire a senior staff member who lacks a basic understanding of ‘issues relevant to Scotland’.

"The taxpayer shouldn't be paying through the nose for this Tory flag-waving exercise.

"Decisions about Scotland should be taken in Scotland, not Whitehall."

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