Greene criticises £4m of Scottish Government pay-offs

Responding to new documentation provided to the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit Committee which reveals that in 2023-24, Scottish public bodies agreed to 84 settlement agreements, including 40 with confidentiality clauses in place, worth more than £3,932,217, Committee Deputy Convenor and Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Jamie Greene said:

“This is a huge number of settlement agreements, a huge number of a gagging clauses and a huge sum of public money being paid out.

“From the Scottish Government to NHS Scotland and a host of public bodies, there are substantial pay-outs being made on a regular basis and very little transparency for the reasons for the exits or how much people are being paid.

“The Scottish Government’s mishandling of HR matters has infamously landed them in court cases and legal battles in recent years, from the famous (WICS) Water Industry pay-offs to big sums at Ferguson Marine for failure. It seems like the Scottish Government is playing fast and loose with public money when well-paid public execs quit.”