The surge comes as Scotland faces five years of cuts and 12,000 public sector job losses, with ministers battling a £5 billion black hole.
At the same time, health boards have spent £34m on communications staff since 2019/20, a 127% rise that hit nearly £7m last year alone.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance blasted the soaring spend on “spin doctors” while Scots face rising bills and shrinking services, calling on ministers to rein in their growing comms machine.
Why does the Scottish Government employ so many communications officers?
The Scottish Government employs a team of what some dub spin doctors, because of the scale and complexity of modern government. Ministers lead on health, education, transport, climate policy, social security, policing, housing, foreign trade promotion, and much more.
Each area involves legislation, public services, and large sums of taxpayers’ money.
The Scottish Government want to explain these decisions clearly – and defending them against criticism -requires coordinated, professional communications. Without a sizeable team, ministers argue they could not reach the public, media, and stakeholders effectively.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance is concerned about the rising cost of government communications, which has grown steadily over the last decade. They say communications should be lean, factual, and minimal.
Detractors argue that this money would be better spent on frontline services such as schools, hospitals, or local councils struggling with budget cuts.
Defenders of the spend counter that effective communication is itself a frontline service with poorly explained policy leading to confusion, wasted resources, and public mistrust.
Nicola Sturgeon hosted almost daily televised media briefings during the Covid pandemic at the Scottish Government headquarters in St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh For example, during the Covid-19 pandemic, clear and consistent messaging was considered vital in persuading people to follow lockdown rules, wear masks, and get vaccinated.
So what exactly do these communications teams do?
They are responsible for press and media handling including writing press releases, briefing journalists, and organising interviews for ministers.
They are also responsible for reputation management – defending ministers and departments from criticism or misinformation.
The team organises pubic information campaigns – for example, on health advice, energy efficiency, or education initiatives.
They will run the government’s digital and social media accounts, and deal with crisis communications by responding to emergencies such as storms, pandemics, or IT failures.
What are the rising pressures pushing for more communications staff?
It is argued that the response to the 24/7 news cycle requires constant monitoring and instant responses, while the rise of platforms like TikTok and Instagram has expanded the workload. On top of this, officials argue they must combat disinformation with fact-checking and counter-messaging, as the public increasingly demands faster and clearer communication.
Critics say, yes, believing that communications can sometimes feel too controlling, defensive, or jargon-heavy and that instead of ‘news management’ there should be more openness and transparency, with ministers and officials more directly accountable rather than shielded by press officers.
It is also argued that with public budgets under pressure, there needs to be stronger justification over whether every new communications role delivers value for money.
(Image: Damian Shields) But supporters say that investing in communications saves money by preventing confusion, ensuring compliance, and boosting trust. For instance, road safety campaigns or public health messaging can save lives and reduce NHS costs. They stress that most staff are not ‘spin doctors’ but professionals doing necessary public service work.
What does the Scottish Government say about the soaring costs of communications?
They say effective communication, deploying various media, social media, marketing and public relations “is essential to raise awareness of government policies, and to encourage uptake of key public services”.
They say that the number of staff working in communications fluctuates across the year but numbers have “remained stable in recent years following a temporary peak during the course of the Covid pandemic response”.
