The Scottish Government, led by First Minister John Swinney, plans to significantly expand its network of overseas offices from nine to more than 40 across roughly 34 countries, according to a Mail on Sunday report. The proposal has triggered a political row, with the UK Labour government accusing the SNP of wasting public money abroad while neglecting domestic priorities, and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticising Swinney for grandstanding internationally rather than reforming Scotland's civil service at home.

The expansion, outlined in Swinney's Programme for Government, would merge Scottish Government and Scottish Development International offices into an expanded "Scotland House" network. It comes just days after Swinney pledged to overhaul and shrink Scotland's "bloated" public sector through mergers of quangos, councils and NHS boards. Currently, the Scottish Government's nine overseas offices, located in countries including China, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, France, Canada and the USA, employ 47 staff and cost taxpayers £7.2 million annually; a UK government source noted that the UK's own diplomatic network already covers 282 missions in around 180 countries.