[1] The post holder of the office is based at St Andrew's House, the headquarters of the Scottish Government in Edinburgh.

[2] Additional responsibilities of the chief of staff to the first minister include being the First Minister's senior intermediary with key internal and external stakeholders, co-ordinator of the Special Adviser team and prior to the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, the chief of staff acted as policy support adviser on the Commonwealth Games and Sport portfolio within the Scottish Government.

A spokesperson for the first minister at that time, Nicola Sturgeon, told the media "Liz Lloyd is taking a period of leave following the election.

The First Minister has asked Colin McAllister to take on the role as acting Chief of Staff until Ms Lloyd’s return to government".

Consequently[non sequitur], the first minister is required to prepare an annual report to lay before the Scottish Parliament detailing the number of special advisers and their associated costs.