FOI 26-071 ScotSTAR Locum Consultants

Freedom of Information Request

Reference
FOI 26-071 ScotSTAR Locum Consultants
Request Date
09 Feb 2026
Response Date
17 Mar 2026
Information Requested

How much money did ScotSTAR spend from 1st April 2024 - 31st December 2025 on locum consultants? 

 

By way of explanation, expenditure that may be described informally as “locum” can include, but is not limited to: 

  • additional sessional or overtime payments to existing substantive consultant staff; 
  • consultants engaged on fixed‑term contracts; and 
  • consultants engaged externally, for example via an agency or other third‑party arrangement. 
Response

The term “locum consultants” is not defined within the Scottish Ambulance Service’s financial systems. For the purposes of responding to this request, and in line with our duty to provide reasonable advice and assistance under section 15 of FOISA, we have interpreted locum consultants as referring to senior medical staff supporting ScotSTAR who are not substantively employed by the Scottish Ambulance Service.  

 

The relevant categories held for ScotSTAR are: 

 

  • Secondee Senior Medical & Dental, which includes senior medical staff engaged via secondment or fixed‑term arrangements, including where costs are recharged from NHS Boards; and 
  • NHS Locum Consultant, which includes consultants engaged on a locum basis. 

 

Based on these cost categories, the expenditure held is as follows: 

Cost category 

2024 (£) 

2025 (April–December) (£) 

Secondee Senior Medical & Dental 

3,762,416 

3,081,764 

NHS Locum Consultant 

40,048 

13,233 

Total 

3,802,464 

3,094,997 

Please note that the 2025 figures cover the period April to December only. 

The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold this information further disaggregated under a single “locum” heading, and FOISA does not require the creation of new information or re‑classification of expenditure beyond the categories in which it is held. 

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