Scottish Government’s travel and subsistence policy information: FOI release

Information requested

At last week's First Minister's Questions, The First Minister repeatedly said that Mr Matheson had paid back every penny of the expenses claimed (for roaming charges), so there was no cost to the taxpayer.

Given this statement I wish to understand the total cost incurred for all investigations, parliamentary time, research and committee time, that is over and above the simple cost of the bill for roaming charges, for the Parliamentary standards committee to conclude sanctions were necessary.

If the claim had not been made by Mr Matheson none of this activity would have been necessary which would have been at no cost to the taxpayer. I find it hard to understand why the First Minister is not considering these additional costs.

I accept that some of this detail may be difficult to judge so I am happy with approximate figures and I am happy for you to break down the elements if it is easier to itemise in that way. If the question above is too broad, I would ask for the costs of the Parliamentary standards  committee time related to this subject and the costs related to all parliamentary time and questions on this subject. There were 5 questions at the First Minister's questions last week for example and I am sure many more were documented in recent months.

Can I also ask what the human resources policy of the Scottish Government states for those who make fraudulent expense claims.

Response

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

The Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have asked for because the costs incurred by investigations, parliamentary time, research and committee time lie with the Scottish Parliament and not the Scottish Government. The device and data charges in question were issued and charged to the Scottish Parliament and not the Scottish Government, therefore, the resulting investigation falls under the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament. You may wish to direct your request to the Information Management and Governance Team at the Scottish Parliament by emailing foi.officer@parliament.scot. Further information and other ways to request information can be found on the Scottish Parliament website here.

Regarding the Human Resources policy of the Scottish Government in relation to fraudulent expense claims, please see the below response:

The Scottish Government’s travel and subsistence policy states: “Submitting a fraudulent claim is a serious disciplinary offence. It's not a defence to argue you were unaware of the rules. If you're in doubt about your entitlement to specific expenses, you must speak to your countersigning officer or consult the travel and subsistence team before incurring the expense.”

Any allegations of fraudulent expense claims would fall to be considered as a breach of conduct under the Scottish Government’s disciplinary policy. The policy states: “Examples of misconduct include fraud.” and “If it is decided that there is no case to answer, the officer against whom an allegation has been made, and where appropriate, the officer making the complaint, will be informed of this in writing. A decision not to proceed with disciplinary action in cases of alleged serious fraud, other than where the individual is being prosecuted, will be taken by the Permanent Secretary, or the Registrar General or Chief Executive of an agency, as appropriate, after consultation with one of the Scottish Ministers. For Non-Department Public Bodies, this decision will be taken by the Chief Executive.”

This policy position applies to Scottish Government employees only and it is not the policy that applies to members of the Scottish Parliament. You may want to contact the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body who hold the policy for MSPs on making expenses claims and any conduct sanctions for a breach.

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.