Baxter: Swinney's £27 million zombie army payroll could fund 50,000 pothole repairs

Highland MSP Andrew Baxter has demanded the SNP Government explain itself after revelations that almost 800 public sector employees are awaiting permanent redeployment at an estimated annual cost of £27.6 million - enough to pay for 50,000 pothole repairs.

An investigation by The Sunday Times revealed that 794 public sector employees across Scotland remain on the payroll despite their original positions no longer existing.

Among them are 88 NHS Highland employees, including one who has reportedly been without a permanent position for an astonishing 17 years.

The estimated £27.6 million annual cost is equivalent to:

• Around 810 new police constables, based on starting salaries.
• Around 740 junior doctors, based on reported starting salaries.
• Almost 800 newly qualified nurses, based on NHS Scotland Band 5 starting salaries.
• More than 1,000 full-time care workers, using an illustrative salary of £26,000.
• Approximately 50,000 pothole repairs, using historic Transport Scotland expenditure figures.

Perhaps most strikingly for Highland residents, the annual cost is equivalent to approximately seven years of Highland Council's 2024/25 expenditure on road patching, including pothole repairs.

Andrew Baxter, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, said:

"With Halloween just around the corner, it's a fitting time to discover that the SNP is spending £27 million a year to keep its own zombie workforce alive.

"Meanwhile, Highland motorists are playing dodge the pothole, patients are waiting for treatment, police officers are stretched and elderly residents are struggling to access the care they need.

"To put it into perspective, that £27 million is around seven times what Highland Council spent on road patching in an entire year. Anyone who has driven along Highland roads recently will know exactly where that money could be put to good use.

"Let's be clear: this is not the fault of the employees caught up in the system. They deserve proper jobs and meaningful work. The responsibility lies with those who have allowed these arrangements to continue for years without a permanent resolution.

"The SNP have spent years promising efficiencies and public sector reform, yet we keep seeing examples that raise serious questions about whether taxpayers are getting value for money.

"They are forever telling councils and public services that budgets are tight, while communities are left wondering why the basics seem so difficult to fund.

"Highland residents don't expect miracles. They expect roads without enormous potholes, a police officer when they need one, a doctor when they're ill, and somewhere safe for their loved ones to grow old.

"John Swinney needs to explain how these arrangements have been allowed to continue, what taxpayers are receiving for this expenditure, and what steps his government will take to bring the costs under control."