Zero Waste Scotland is spending £9 million on creative, design, digital, public relations, print, media monitoring to support its work and also specific communications support for its partner local authorities.

The agency is inviting tenders for nine lots, ranging from £80,000 to £2.6m to cover the period from 1 April this year until the end of March 2025.

They will cover range of issues from encouraging a circular economy to tackling food waste.

The organisation is supported mainly through a Scottish grant and the PR deal is equal to a third of its annual income.

Transport Scotland has handed Glasgow-based PR agency Big Partnership a communications contract worth £6 million over four years.

Big will be required to supply communication support until 2026 on strategic planning, stakeholder engagement and liaison, crisis and issues management, internal communications, events and exhibition support, evaluation and media monitoring, press trip organisation, and media intelligence.

Four bids were submitted but it was decided to award the whole contract to a single agency.

Transport Scotland is an agency of the Scottish Government and said it had identified the need to appoint a suitably qualified and experienced communications specialist to provide critical communication support services.