Civil servants travel restrictions: FOI release

Information requested

• If an assessment of the impact of restricting travel for civil servants had on their ability to carry out their duties effectively had been undertaken?
• For the total estimated saving the Scottish Government expects to make as a result of the restriction of a) travel and b) overtime for civil service staff.
• If any concerns had been raised by civil servants or Scottish Government Ministers about the potential impact of travel restrictions inhibiting the ability of the civil service to carry out its work effectively.

Response

The introduction of the emergency financial controls sought to reduce the amount of travel, overtime and other discretionary areas of spending. This requires the different areas across the Scottish Government to scrutinise the level of travel and determine for themselves if reductions could be made within the 2024-25 financial year, and locally assess the impact of any reductions when determining if travel should go ahead. Given the wide spread of duties and roles across the Scottish Government, no central assessment of the impact was undertaken for travel or any other area of discretionary spend.

Due to the wide variation of spend on these discretionary costs between different areas, and the changing nature of Government business and how it is conducted from one financial year to the next, no central estimate was made on the potential saving from the introduction of the emergency financial controls in relation to travel and overtime costs.

On that basis, while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the data that you have requested on the estimated savings the Scottish Government expects to make from restrictions on travel and overtime. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

Concerns relating to the controls inhibiting the ability to perform the work of the Civil Service have not been raised to the central People Directorate or Financial Management Directorate teams.

About FOI

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