Public sector pay strategy 2023 to 2024

Public sector pay strategy for the year 2023 to 2024 which applies to staff in the Scottish Government and its associated departments, agencies, non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and public corporations.


Annex B Employment in the Public Sector in Scotland

Employment in the public sector in Scotland

Employment (headcount) in the public sector in Scotland was 594,500 as of December 2022, representing around a fifth (21.9%) of all employment in Scotland[2]. The proportion of people in employment in the public sector across the UK as a whole was 17.7%[3].

Of the total 594,500 people employed in the public sector in Scotland, just over 90% are working in the devolved public sector.

The breakdown of the devolved public sector (headcount) is illustrated below. As can be seen, over 80% of people in the devolved public sector are employed in either Local Government or the NHS.

Figure D: Percentage breakdown of Scottish devolved Public Sector, Q4 2022 ( FTE)
This is a square area map showing the composition of the Scottish devolved Public Sector. It shows Local Government at 48.5% and NHS with 33.5%.

Note: Totals may not equal the sum of the individual parts due to rounding

Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 4 2022

Since December 2019, employment (headcount) in the devolved public sector in Scotland has increased by 34,460 (6.8%) to 538,700 in December 2022. This compares with the private sector which was estimated to have increased by 45,980 (2.2%) to 2,125,700 over the same period.

The Resource Spending Review included commitments to hold the total public sector pay bill (excluding Local Government) at around 2022-23 levels whilst returning the overall size of the public sector (excluding Local Government) broadly to pre-COVID-19 levels. The overall aim was to ensure sustainable public bodies. Following further analysis and engagement, our proposal on how we achieve sustainable public bodies evolved and in the 2023-24 Budget, we set out that it is for individual public bodies to locally determine the target operating model for their workforces and to ensure workforce plans and projections are affordable in 2023-24 and in the medium term.

This change recognised the relative size of public bodies within the devolved public sector – in particular, almost two-thirds of employment (FTE) in the devolved public sector, excluding Local Government, is in the NHS which has grown by almost 13,500 FTE (around 10%) since 2019. It also recognised the accountability of public bodies to deliver efficiently and effectively within their budget and that budget allocations reflect our priorities.

The chart below shows a further breakdown of the devolved public sector in Scotland (FTE) including change since December 2019.

Figure E: FTE breakdown of Scottish devolved Public Sector, Q4 2022 ( FTE)
The Figure shows a breakdown of the Scottish devolved Public Sector of FTE by different departments and the changes since Quarter 4 2019.

Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 4 2022, Social Security Scotland – workforce information: December 2022

Note: Totals may not equal the sum of the individual parts due to rounding. Remaining devolved public sector includes other devolved public bodies, public corporations, and further education colleges.

Contact

Email: financepaypolicy@gov.scot

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