The SNP’s Scottish independence papers are costing taxpayers up to almost £11 for each person who reads them, new figures show.
A series of reports have been published as part of the Building a New Scotland series, which is aimed at giving Scots an “informed choice” about the future.
One paper on proposals for the marine sector was downloaded just 1,295 times, but cost more than £14,059 to produce, equating to £10.85 per view.
Another report on the benefits system cost £20,271 and was downloaded 3,902 times, working out at a cost of £5.20 per person.
The document detailing plans for an independent Scotland to have a modern constitution cost £2.71 per download, while one on the EU was £2.65 for each view.
Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: “Since the SNP-Green government embarked on this exercise, the chief criticism has been that it is a disgraceful waste of money.
“Taxpayers’ cash shouldn’t be used to promote nationalist propaganda.
“It would seem, judging by the number of people accessing these reports, that the public agrees.
“Ministers must explain why spending several pounds for every person downloading a report, as was the case with some of these papers, is good value for money.
“It’s time for the Scottish Government to stop wasting resources this way and focus on people’s priorities.”
The first nine papers in the series were downloaded 210,207 times overall and cost £150,467 to produce, an average of 72p per download.
But earlier reports attracted more attention than more recent publications.
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said it had a “clear mandate” from voters “to provide the people of Scotland with the information they need to make an informed choice about their future across a range of topics.”
He added: “There continues to be strong public interest in these papers, which is evident in the media coverage surrounding their publication and engagement on social media.”
