Information Released in Response to an FOI Request
| Title | Resources, Structure and Function of the First and Deputy First Minister' Offices for Scottish Government |
| Description | A breakdown of the number of permanent staff currently employed in the Scottish Government at October 2007, broken down by Cabinet Secretary portfolio. An explanation of the staff compliment of the private offices for the First Minister, Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers and the composition of the Office of the First Minister. A total budget figure for the Scottish Government Administration for 2007/08. |
| Publication Date | November 02, 2007 |
| Charge | Free. |
The table below sets out the total numbers of staff within each Cabinet Secretary portfolio. These figures include staff employed within Ministerial Private Offices which provide direct support to each Cabinet Secretary and each Minister. Generally, Cabinet Secretaries are supported by four staff - a Private Secretary, an Assistant Private Secretary and two administrative staff. Ministers are generally supported by two staff a Private Secretary and one member of administrative staff.
The exceptions to this are:
· the Private Office which supports the First Minister which is comprised of nine staff - a Principal Private Secretary, a Private Secretary, a Deputy Private Secretary, two Assistant Private Secretaries and four administrative staff.
· the Private Office which supports the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth which is comprised of five staff - a Private Secretary, a deputy Private Secretary, an Assistant Private Secretary and two administrative members of staff.
· the Private Office which supports the Minister for Parliamentary Business which is comprised of four staff in the same configuration as for a Cabinet Secretary.
The staff numbers include those within the organisation who provide a central support function across the Scottish Government, for example Human Resources, Information Technology and Communications.
The largest part of the Administration Budget covers the costs of running the core administration of the whole of the Scottish Government, which are mainly staffing and associated costs such as accommodation and training. The capital budget provides resources for IT projects and facilities and estate services.
The total budget for the Scottish Government Administration in 2007/08 is £251.6m, split £242.9m resource, £8.7 capital.
The following table sets out the number of permanent staff currently employed in the Scottish Government, broken down by Cabinet Secretary portfolio.
Permanent Staff (Full-Time Equivalent) at 1 September 2007
| First Minister | 1,171.3 |
| Education and Lifelong Learning | 367.7 |
| Finance and Sustainable Growth | 780.1 |
| Health and Wellbeing | 556.2 |
| Justice and Communities | 352.9 |
| Rural Affairs and Environment | 895.3 |
| Total | 4,123.50 |
The Scottish Government also uses agency workers through its contracts with Pertemps (clerical and administrative staff) and Hays (interim managers). The numbers of agency workers in core Directorates at 1 August 2007 were 194 Pertemps staff and 35 Hays staff working in core Directorates.