New figures show the total bill for the Scottish Government’s political advisors was just over £1 million in 2013/14, though this includes salary, national insurance and pension costs.
The cost of the taxpayer-funded spinners has soared since the parliament reopened in 1999, when the special advisor bill was just under £400,000.
Scottish Labour Finance spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “A lot of Scots will be angry that an SNP Government which voted against the living wage and banning zero hours contracts stumped up over £1 million for the biggest cast of party spin doctors in Scottish Government history.”
Current First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has just hired two new spinners to take her total number of special advisors to 13. Previously, the Scottish Government was barred from hiring more than 12 special advisers, but that rule was scrapped in 2010 following UK legislation.
Special advisers are employed at the public expense to give political advice to ministers that would be inappropriate coming from impartial civil servants.
Critics claim the advisors have overly politicised the civil service, but others argue they aid the process of government by liaising with the media and the party machines.
The last Tory/Lib Dem UK Government had 103 advsers at a cost of £8.4m a year.
Miss Sturgeon’s two new hires, Jeanette Campbell and Kate Higgins, have professional experience in the third sector and have both worked or campaigned for the SNP in the past.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “These appointments take the number of special advisers to thirteen one fewer than during financial year 2013-14. The estimated cost of the current special adviser team for a full year in 2015-16 would be £931,200 a real terms decrease of £103,995 on the 12-month cost of the 2006-07 team.
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