Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 August 2024
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason, according to the latest information in March 2024, the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government earns a salary of £170,000 to £174,999 per annum, while the Director-General for Health and Social Care earns a salary of £190,000 to £194,999, and whether it will publish all (a) memos, (b) documents and (c) internal reports that justify the award of a higher sum to a less senior civil servant.
Director General is a senior grade within the Senior Civil Service (SCS) and pay and terms and conditions of employment are reserved to the UK Government. The Director General for Health and Social Care’s salary remains within the overarching pay range set by Cabinet Office for Directors General, which has a ceiling as at 1 April 2023 of £208,100. The salary for the current Permanent Secretary was also set by Cabinet Office when they were appointed to the Scottish Government and was set to be cognisant of the salaries of other Permanent Secretaries across the UK.
The Director General for Health and Social Care’s salary reflects the fact she serves as both NHS Scotland’s Chief Executive and the Scottish Government’s Director-General Health and Social Care. As such the salary is set in relation to relevant market rates in Scotland and the wider UK, and at a level that ensures the role is attractive to candidates with relevant experience, particularly senior healthcare leaders in the NHS. The Senior Leadership Committee in the Cabinet Office, and the Civil Service Commission both approved the salary approach for this role.
It is not unusual both in the public and private sectors for there to be overlap between salaries and grades where salaries for individual roles need to be set to compete in a specialist market.