SIX FIGURE SALARIES: HARVIE URGES SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT REVIEW
Patrick Harvie MSP, Finance and Economy spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, today (29 DEC) urged
Scottish ministers to review the pay of the most senior public sector officials to prevent six figure
salaries becoming the norm.
Analysis by the Scottish Greens reveals that there are at least 64 employees in the Scottish
Government, its non-departmental public bodies and public corporations being paid at least £100,000.
Particularly high salaries include Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans on £160,000-£164,999, Scottish Enterprise chief executive Lena Wilson on £205,000-£209,999 and Scottish Futures Trust chief executive Barry White on £180,000.
High pay at Scottish Water includes chief executive Douglas Millican on £245,000-£250,000, chief
operating officer Peter Farrer on £175,000-£180,000 and finance director Alan Scott on £175,000-
£180,000.
By contrast most public sector staff have seen a real terms pay cut in recent years.
Patrick Harvie, Finance spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and MSP for Glasgow, said:
"The Scottish Government is an accredited Living Wage employer and that is to be commended but the lack of action on high pay is unacceptable. As frontline services face being downgraded due to budget cuts, it's just bizarre to continue paying six figure salaries.
"There is little evidence that paying more results in better management. The successes of our public
bodies are team efforts, and rewards should be shared fairly. If we really aspire to a fairer
Scotland we should be closing the pay gap between the frontline and the boardroom.
"Added to that, health boards and local authorities also pay six figure salaries, and we should be
prepared to question whether such big pay packets are the right incentive to ensure we get the best
people overseeing our health service, social care and education. By redistributing these funds we
could properly protect and improve our public services."
13 senior staff at Scottish Government earn over £100,000. The salaries of a further 4 senior posts,
including Chief Medical Officer and Chief Nursing Officer, are listed as "not available"