Swinney to expand network of Scottish ’embassies’ – Daily Business

John Swinney plans to expand the Scottish Government’s network of “embassies” to more than 40 locations, despite last week announcing a cull of publicly-funded offices.

The current nine overseas offices, costing £7 million a year, will be expanded in order to boost international trade and Scotland’s reputation overseas.

The UK gov­ern­ment previously criticised SNP min­is­ters for disregarding official rules by using official meet­ings abroad to promote Scottish independence.

Plans to expand the number of overseas offices come a week after the First Minister announced moves to reduce the size of Scot­land’s civil ser­vice through mer­gers of quan­gos and a reduction in the number of geographical NHS boards from 14 to two.

“John Swin­ney can­not plead poverty when it comes to Scot­land’s real pri­or­it­ies when he is plan­ning to expand his net­work of pre­tend embassies,” the Con­ser­vat­ive MSP Stephen Kerr said.

A UK gov­ern­ment source told the Scottish Mail on Sunday: “Scot­land already bene­fits from the strength and reach of the UK’s dip­lo­matic net­work, with 282 mis­sions in around 180 countries to promote our interests, attract invest­ment and cham­pion Scot­tish busi­nesses.

“Over recent months this net­work has helped us bring vital ship­build­ing orders to the Clyde and secured trade deals around the globe from India to the EU. For­eign policy is clearly reserved to the UK gov­ern­ment. The Scot­tish gov­ern­ment should be focused on get­ting the basics right at home.”

The first Scot­land House opened in Brus­sels in 1999, and another in Lon­don in 2017. There are now offices in China, Ger­many, Den­mark, Ire­land, France, Canada and the US.

Additionally, Scot­tish Devel­op­ment Inter­na­tional has about 20 offices in other coun­tries, some of which could be merged into new Scot­land House offices.

A Scottish government spokeswoman said: “Scotland’s international network attracts investment, supports exports and brings international students and talent to Scotland, whilst supporting jobs, economic growth and the tax revenues that fund our public services.

“This network has played an invaluable role in bringing an unprecedented £2.46 billion in planned international sales, securing 108 inward investment projects in 2025 and attracting more than 52,000 jobs through foreign direct investment over the last decade.”