Social Security Scotland spending: FOI release

Information requested

How much Social Security Scotland has spent on: 

 

1. Rail travel for employees 

2. Hiring and leasing vehicles 
    

Please provide data from 2018 to present, with a breakdown by year. 

 

Response

Please find the requested information below which covers Rail and Hire/Lease travel costs between 1 September 2018 to 20 January 2023 for all staff (including senior staff) in Social Security Scotland. All figures are inclusive of VAT. 

As a national service, face-to-face communication with local authorities, stakeholders and, most importantly, the public is necessary to ensure that we are delivering the best service possible for the people of Scotland. These figures include, for the first time, the national rollout of Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment and the resulting live Local Delivery service, including meeting people in their homes or locally convenient premises across Scotland as required. 

 

Date	Rail travel spend (£s)	Hire and leasing of vehicles spend  (£s)
1 September 2018 to 31 March  2019	60,673.37	22,760.38
1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020	173,354.05	24,469.62
1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021	349.30	15,609.78
1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022	10,517.91	25,647.35
1 April 2022 to 20 January 2023	76,050.50	212,368.34

Please note that the figures for 1 April 2022 to 20 January 2023 are subject to audit and do not represent the full 2022/23 financial year due to the timing of the data extract. 

This month we will introduce our 13th benefit and overall we are expected to provide around £4.2 billion in payments in 2022-23 to over one million people, including those with complex needs and disabilities. 

As we have emerged from the pandemic, we have been able to have staff travelling to provide localised support across all local authority areas in Scotland to the people who need it. This has resulted in increased costs for travel, including car hire, where that has been assessed as the most cost effective means of travel. 

About FOI

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