'Misleading' SNP claim that UK Government 'slashed' civil servant numbers in Scotland sparks row

The SNP has accused the UK Government of “empty rhetoric” amid claims the Conservatives protected jobs south of the border as austerity ripped through public services.

However, the comments have sparked a row, with the UK Government labelling the claim “misleading”, arguing many of the jobs have been transferred to the Scottish Government rather than “cut”.

Nicola Sturgeon’s party said Scotland was disproportionately hit harder by job cuts as the coalition and subsequent governments cut the number of civil servants UK-wide.

Queen Elizabeth House, the new UK Government Hub in Edinburgh.

The overall number of all civil servants in Scotland has dropped by 2.5 per cent to 47,590 in the past decade, according to figures up to the end of March last year.

However, in March 2021, the Cabinet Office announced it would establish a new headquarters in Glasgow, relocating more than 1,000 jobs, which are not included in the figures.

With this, overall civil servant numbers are essentially static when compared to 2011’s figure of 48,830.

Overall Scottish Government civil servant numbers have risen by 29.6 per cent (or 5,070), while figures for UK Government staff show a drop of 19.9 per cent (or 6,310).

The SNP said the overall cuts to civil service numbers by the UK Government have also disproportionately affected Scotland, with the UK Government cutting its presence by 19.9 per cent in Scotland compared to by 10.9 per cent UK-wide.

It also said the cuts had led to a £200 million negative impact to the Scottish economy, though provided no evidence for this figure, which was also rejected by the UK Government.

The number of Cabinet Office staff, who prior to Michael Gove’s move to the Department of Levelling Up held the union brief, has also trebled to more than 10,000 staff, with just 80 being based in Scotland.

Criticising the cut to civil servant numbers in Scotland, SNP MP Kirsten Oswald said the UK Government had “slashed” public service jobs in Scotland.

She said: “This is yet another example of empty rhetoric from Westminster politicians. Despite boasts of how many jobs they control in Scotland, in the period of austerity, the Westminster government chose to disproportionately slash jobs north of the border.

"The Scottish Government has safeguarded public service jobs whilst the Westminster government slashed Scottish public service jobs left, right and centre, exposing precisely where their priorities lie.

“Meanwhile the department that directly supports the Prime Minister has ballooned in numbers by an astonishing 300 per cent. It looks like the Tories think they can do what they like to Scotland and get away with it.”

Responding, a UK Government spokesperson said: “Scotland has a higher percentage of its population in civil service roles than England. Nearly 50,000 people, equating to 10 per cent of all UK civil servants, are based in Scotland, with Scotland making up 8 per cent of the UK’s total population.

“In certain reserved departments, some jobs have been transferred to the Scottish Government and it is misleading to suggest these have been cut.

“We are increasing Civil Service head count in Scotland through our Places for Growth programme and, in addition to the new UK Government Office in Edinburgh, we are delivering the relocation of more than a thousand jobs to the Cabinet Office’s second HQ in Glasgow and the Foreign Office's joint-HQ in East Kilbride.”

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