SNP leader John Swinney has insisted his party is “financially strong” in the wake of an announcement its staff numbers could be cut from 26 to 16.

Speaking to the PA news agency on Tuesday, the First Minister said the party had to go through a “difficult process” on its staff numbers, but explained this was necessary to ensure the party maintained its financial position.

On Saturday the party’s national executive committee (NEC) agreed to consult on a proposal to “streamline” staffing, while a voluntary redundancy scheme has been opened.

The party is financially strong, but we have got to keep it that way, and that is what the difficult process that we have got to go through involves

Mr Swinney added that the measures would help the party deliver a “financially sustainable and innovative approach” to contesting the 2026 Holyrood election.

The First Minister said: “The party is financially strong, but we have got to keep it that way, and that is what the difficult process that we have got to go through involves.

“We have a very committed team of people who work at our party headquarters, and I appreciate this is a difficult process for all of them, and I want to make sure that we take our decisions in accordance with what the party executive decided on Saturday, in a fair and respectful process.

“And that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

Asked whether the party had enough funding to fight the next election, he said: “That’s essentially what we’re getting in place, to create the ability to ensure that we can do that and we can do that effectively.

“And I promised the party that it would have a financially sustainable and innovative approach to electioneering for 2026 and that’s what we’re going to deliver.”

The SNP has been dealt a number of financial blows in recent years.

After being reduced to just nine Westminster seats the party lost out on a bulk of its so-called Short money, which is provided to opposition parties to allow them to carry out their parliamentary duties.

The SNP has also struggled for substantial donations in recent years, relying instead on membership fees owing to its status as Scotland’s biggest party.

This year, 81% of the party’s funding came from membership fees, compared to just 35% in 2015 – the year Nicola Sturgeon led it to a massive 56 of Scotland’s seats in the general election.