SQUANDERING OF £20M ON WOKE SNP JOBS

Anger over bill for diversity roles days after farcical evidence at tribunal

- Douglas Dickie

PUBLIC bodies have spent a colossal £20million of public money on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) roles and training under the SNP.

The spend was last night branded a "waste of money" by the Scottish Conservatives, who said they would "take a claymore" to such lavish spending. Health boards alone have spent £8.9m on DEI roles 2019.

The bill for councils comes to £2.5m, while universities have spent £5.9m. The Scottish Government is responsible for £1.7m of the £20m total, while the justice sector accounts for £1m.

The shocking figures were uncovered by the Scottish Tories using freedom of information legislation. The data shows that the cost of DEI roles doubled from £2.1m in the financial year 2019/20, to £4.3m in 2023/24.

As many organisations claimed not to hold data on DEI roles centrally, the overall figure is likely to be much higher.

Scottish Conservative Deputy Leader Rachael Hamilton MSP said: "Hard-pressed Scots will be outraged that the SNP have squandered millions on woke DEI training and roles, when they are making savage cuts to vital public services.