According to this Daily Mail report, Scotland's civil service has reached its highest ever staffing level, despite the SNP having pledged to reduce its size. The story is framed around criticism that the workforce has become "bloated", raising questions about the government's ability or willingness to deliver promised cuts to headcount and public spending.

The available text does not include the full body of the article, so specific figures, timeframes and named sources cannot be reliably summarised here. The central claim, drawn from the headline, is that staff numbers have grown rather than fallen since the commitment to make reductions was made.