Government Car Service (GCS) and Ministerial car travel statistics: FOI release

Information requested

The amount the Scottish Government spent on the Government Car Service in each year from 2007/08 to 2022/23 (to the date of this request).

Number of cars in the Scottish Government, Government Car Service in each year from 2007/08 to 2022/23 (to the date of this request).

The number of FTE staff working in the Scottish Government, Government Car Service in each year from 2007/08 to 2022/23 (to the date of this request).

The amount spent by the Scottish Government on ministerial taxi journeys in each year from 2007/08 to 2022/23 (to the date of this request).

The amount spent by the Scottish Government on expenses for ministers for travel in their own cars while on Scottish Government business in each year from 2007/08 to 2022/23 (to the date of this request).

Response

We are able to provide some of the information you have requested, however exemptions apply to other aspects of your request.

Government Car Service (GCS) total cost of service, number of staff employed and number of vehicles used.

Year	Total cost of service (1)	Number of cars (2)	Total number of staff (3)
2007-08	£962,142	39	19
2008-09	£980,985	31	19
2009-10	£995,658	28	19
2010-11	£974,678	24	21
2011-12	£1,074.714	28	21
2012-13	£1,204,864	35	21
2013-14	£1,156,208	31	21
2014-15	£1,184,851	28	21
2015-16	£1,145,521	25	21
2016-17	£1,092,375	25	21
2017-18	£1,177,398	27	21
2018-19	£1,323,131	33	21
2019-20	£1,344,978	41	25
2020-21	£903,002	41	25
2021-22	£1,044,967	28	23
2022-23 (4)	£396,213	28	25

Notes
1. Total cost include staff salaries, employer’s contributions, fuel, vehicle maintenance, private hire and travel and subsistence.
2. The number of vehicles fluctuates as and when vehicles are procured and disposed of.
3. Includes drivers and office staff.
4. Total cost up until end of 31st July 2022.

Ministerial personal car travel expenses April 12 to March 16.

Year	Total
2012- 13	£26.55
2013- 14	£7,036.45
2014- 15	£5,321.15
2015- 16	£2,230.53

Ministerial personal car travel expense records prior to 2012-13 and Ministerial taxi expenditure records prior to 2009 -10 have been routinely destroyed in accordance with our records management practice, before the date of your request.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have some the information you have requested.

Ministerial personal car travel expenses from April 2016 to February 2022 and taxi expenditure from April 2009 to February 2022, can be accessed via the following links:

Ministerial Travel (webarchive.org.uk)

Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

This is a formal notice under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.

If, however, you are unable to obtain this information from the websites listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

Ministerial personal car expenses and taxi expenditure are routinely and proactively published and information covering March to July 2022 will be published in the next 12 weeks.

You will be able to find this information via the second link above.

This is a formal notice under section 27(1) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. This exemption allows public authorities to refuse to disclose information if they already plan to publish it within the next 12 weeks.

Our application of this exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information now outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have concluded that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, since providing this information at this point, given that it will shortly be published, would not be a responsible use of public resources and therefore not be in the public interest.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.