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The cost of running the Scottish Government and its various quangos has increased by 60 per cent in just six years as questions are asked surrounding the value for money.

Scotland’s faceless civil service costs taxpayers £1.6bn, a huge 60 per cent rise in seven years. New figures revealed that the cost to run Scotland’s bloated government rose from an estimated £1.010bn in 2016 to £1.623bn in 2023.

This cost includes the staff salaries from the Scottish Government and the majority of quangos in the country. It includes spin doctors, with Humza Yousaf’s team of press officers reaching a record £3.7m in October last year.

In terms of solely impartial bureaucrats within the SNP/Green executive, the cost has doubled from £126.32m to £270.29m since 2016, and this rose by just over £23m in the last year from £247.27m.

Staffing numbers have soared by almost 70 per cent in the same timeframe, from 5,380 to 9,175. This excludes agencies such as Scottish Enterprise and Transport Scotland.

Over the last year, there has been a 4.75 per cent rise in civil servants employed across quangos (2,475) while the headcount within the Scottish Government increased by 325 (3.67 per cent). This rise was criticised by the TaxPayer’s Alliance who pointed out that publicly-funded jobs should be falling sharply due to the end of Brexit negotiations and the Covid pandemic.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, told the Herald: “With the tax burden at near-record levels, Scots are paying through the nose for the boom in public sector employment. What’s more, there is a growing sense that public services in Scotland are worse than before the hiring spree, not better.

“Only once Holyrood is honest about what the state can reasonably be expected to do can we wind down functions and scrap unnecessary jobs.”

The SNP were previously criticised for hiring a growing army of spin doctors with the cost of press officers at Holyrood doubled from £1.8m to £3.7m since the nationalists seized power in 2007.

Scottish Labour’s Daniel Johnson described this cost as “proof positive that the SNP is more interested in laundering its reputation than delivering for the people of Scotland.”

We previously revealed that the taxpayer forked out more than £12m in three years to pay the wages of highly paid “chief” civil servants. These included the director general of health and social care Caroline Lamb who pocketed £192,500 a year, permanent secretary John-Paul Marks on £167,500 and corporate director general Lesley Fraser who made £127,500.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government continually monitors the cost of its operations through effective vacancy management and recruitment controls. Pay and workforce issues will continue to be linked to both the delivery of the Government’s agenda, fiscal sustainability and reform to secure the delivery of effective public services over the medium term.

“Historically, the growth in Scottish Government workforce numbers reflects factors including the addition of new powers and the need to address external challenges such as EU exit, the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine response. Our approach to public sector pay is fair and progressive with specific controls for higher earners, to help ensure that public sector pay remains affordable and delivers value for money.

“Public bodies are best placed to assess both the opportunities and action that must be taken to ensure fiscal sustainability, with budgetary allocations providing the parameters for this. In doing so, public bodies should prioritise delivering efficiency and managing pay sustainably.”