Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to increase the size of the civil service in Scotland.

The Government committed in the 2018 Government Estates Strategy to locate more Civil
Service roles into the regions and nations of the United Kingdom. To deliver on this
commitment, the Cabinet Office is co-ordinating such activity under the Places for Growth
programme. This programme will take a place-based approach to relocating roles that
ensures we have the skills and capacity in the right places to enable organisations and
cities to flourish

The Places for Growth team have been engaging with local stakeholders across the UK,
including in Scotland, to build this nationwide picture of skills and specialisms. This informs
the programme’s support of departmental estates and workforce planning for the
forthcoming Spending Review, to ensure alignment with Places for Growth principles

Departments will be required to relocate roles, including senior roles.

The Civil Service workforce survey (2018) shows that the size of the Civil Service in
Scotland is 43,120, (including 17,340 in the Scottish Government).