Administrative costs within Scotland's National Health Service (NHS) have risen to £1.1 billion annually, a £58 million increase in one year, according to an analysis of government figures. This expenditure on corporate functions such as human resources, finance, and communications has drawn criticism, with opponents suggesting the funds could instead be used to hire tens of thousands of nurses.
The annual bill for these backroom operations between 2024-25 reached £1.142 billion, up from £1.084 billion in 2023-24. This figure is equivalent to the cost of employing approximately 33,000 nurses at a starting salary of £34,544 per year.
Scottish Labour health spokesman Dame Jackie Baillie stated that the money spent on corporate services could have been invested in employing a substantial number of nurses. She called for a streamlining of NHS boards to reduce bureaucracy and redirect resources to frontline services. "It is crucial that every penny is spent wisely so that patients are given the care they need when they need it, and that hardworking staff are fully supported," Baillie said.
The breakdown of the £1.142 billion corporate spending in 2024-25 includes £445.5 million for digital and data, £442.8 million for property, £106.1 million for human resources, £105.1 million for finance, £27.1 million for commercial activities, and £15.6 million for communications.
Despite the rise in spending, the number of full-time equivalent staff in corporate roles saw a marginal decrease from 11,570 in 2023-24 to 11,530 in 2024-25. The number of temporary or contingent workers also fell from 230 to 130 during the same period.
Scottish Conservative health and care spokesman Miles Briggs criticized the increased spending as a sign of misplaced priorities by the Scottish National Party (SNP) government. "Patients are waiting months for treatment, NHS staff are exhausted and morale is being driven into the ground, yet the SNP has somehow found another £58 million to spend on backroom corporate functions," Briggs commented.
He added that such spending should be scrutinized given patient waiting lists and the demand for more frontline staff and resources. "The SNP must urgently cut unnecessary bureaucracy and put taxpayers’ money where it belongs – into frontline services, better patient care and giving NHS staff the support they desperately need," he urged.
When combined with corporate costs from other public sector bodies in Scotland, the total expenditure on backroom functions across the public sector reached £1.7 billion in 2024-25, an increase of £83 million from the previous year.
The SNP government has set a target to reduce back office function costs by £1 billion annually by the end of the decade. Previous attempts to reform the public sector for greater efficiency, first outlined in 2022, have faced criticism from spending watchdogs for failing to deliver promised savings. First Minister John Swinney is expected to address measures to cut public sector costs, including those within the NHS, in his upcoming program for government announcement.