In light of its commitment to reduce the public sector workforce, for what reason the devolved civil service headcount increased in the yea…

In the calendar year to December 2025 the core Scottish Government made a reduction of 2.5% in its total workforce, including both directly employed FTE and contingent worker headcount, as a result of tighter recruitment controls being implemented and taking effect.The increases in the overall number has occurred in specific public bodies outside of core Scottish Government. As tighter recruitment controls are rolled out across Public Bodies we will see headcount reductions there too to meet our targets going forward.