BBC Scotland was forced to replace a picture on its report of a pay rise for MSPs after the First Minister picked up on their error.
The BBC tweeted out an article saying "Pay rise takes MSP salary to more than £63,000", accompanying it with an old picture of the Scottish Cabinet.
However, since April 1 2009, all Scottish government ministers, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, have chosen not to accept their full entitlement – a voluntary pay freeze which means their take-home salary remains at 2008-09 levels.
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Sturgeon tweeted: "Not sure why the BBC has illustrated this story with a photo of the @scotgov Cabinet, given that Scottish Ministers will not get a pay rise. We have chosen yet again to freeze our salaries at 2008/09 levels - donating the difference to the funding of public services"
Not sure why the BBC has illustrated this story with a photo of the @scotgov Cabinet, given that Scottish Ministers will not get a pay rise. We have chosen yet again to freeze our salaries at 2008/09 levels - donating the difference to the funding of public services. https://t.co/ZUFprqT1KI
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) December 12, 2018
BBC Scotland updated the article to include a generic picture of MSPs in Holyrood's debating chamber.
The original tweet has not been deleted, and the correction was issued as a reply through a separate Scotland Newsdesk account – meaning it does not appear as the top reply. The @BBCScotlandNews account has also not retweeted the correction from @BBCScotNewsdesk.
The Scotland Newsdesk account tweeted: "We have updated our picture, as ministers have again chosen to freeze their pay at 2008-09 rates. Apologies for any confusion."
We have updated our picture, as ministers have again chosen to freeze their pay at 2008-09 rates. Apologies for any confusion. pic.twitter.com/ABtvgrSryr
— Scotland Newsdesk (@BBCScotNewsdesk) December 12, 2018
MSPs will receive a pay increase of 2.3% from April next year.
Speaking at a Holyrood committee, members of the Scottish Parliament's Corporate Body (SPCB) said the rise, which MSPs do not vote on, is linked to those in the public-sector pay.
The figure is determined by using the annual survey of earnings and working hours published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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The additional money provided by the voluntary pay freeze – which will continue until at least 2021 – is made available for public spending.
The overall budget for MSPs' pay will increase next year by 3%, attributed to the creation of two additional Cabinet secretary roles and one more junior minister at an extra cost of £168,000.
The Parliament was noted to have been "significantly busier" over the course of 2018, with MSPs spending an increased amount of time at Holyrood.
The time spent in committees increased year-on-year by 27%, with 9% more time spent in the chamber.
The number of committee meetings held also increased by 22%.
Sir Paul Grice, chief executive of the Scottish Parliament, said they are continuing to develop "innovative ways of working".
Grice said: "Staff are just working very hard – there hasn't been a noticeable spike in overtime, we have a very flexible system of working so although we're very busy at certain times of the year, over the summer recess we would expect staff who principally service committees and in the chamber to be able to draw that down."
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