Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
FOI Reference: FOI/202500468165
Date received: 28 May 2025
Date responded: 19 June 2025
Information requested
Request for Information 1: The number of full time equivalent (FTE) employees who work in Social Security Scotland’s internal legal team, including all lawyers, solicitors, etc. in a) Financial Year 2022/23, b) Financial Year 2023/24, and c) Financial Year 2024/25.
Request for Information 2: The total amount spent by Social Security Scotland on internal legal services, including the salaries of employees in the legal team, expenses, etc. in a) Financial Year 2022/23, b) Financial Year 2023/24, and c) Financial Year 2024/25.
Request for Information 3: The total amount spent by Social Security Scotland on external legal services in a) Financial Year 2022/23, b) Financial Year 2023/24, and c) Financial Year 2024/25.
Response
Requests for Information 1, 2 and 3:
Social Security Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government. Legal advice to the Scottish Government, including its executive agencies, is provided in accordance with the principles set out at paragraphs 2.30 to 2.32 of the Scottish Ministerial Code.
The Scottish Ministerial Code states that the primary source of legal advice for the Government is the Scottish Government Legal Directorate (SGLD) which is a shared service across the Scottish Government. Ministers draw on oral and written legal advice as appropriate from Law Officers, SGLD, Counsel and external solicitors.
The table below shows Social Security Scotland’s spend on legal services.
|
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
|
|
Number of FTE Scottish Government Legal Directorate employees |
6.5 |
8.5 |
8.5 |
|
Amount spent on Scottish Government Legal Directorate employees |
£558,705.50 |
£744,558.67 |
£824,899.00 |
|
Amount spent on Scottish Government Legal Directorate commissioned external legal services |
£59,356.66 |
£112,562.69 |
£130,385.59 |
About FOI
Social Security Scotland is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. The Scottish Government also publishes responses to requests. You can view the responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.