Civil servants’ travel costs have risen by at least 11% , from £437m in 2010-11 to £546m in 2013-14, according to the government’s central spending watchdog, even though the number of civil servants has fallen over the same period by almost 20%.
The National Audit Office (NAO) has been able to give only an estimate of the increase, because data about central government travel costs is inconsistent and incomplete. Margaret Hodge, who chairs the Commons public accounts committee, said she was deeply concerned that the government did not know how much it is spending on travel.
In 2013-14, central government identified £546m of travel expenditure through travel contracts, and some government procurement card spending, but does not routinely capture travel claimed by officials as expenses.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, who is stepping down as an MP at the next election, has said cuts to central government saved £14.3bn last year. In recent years there has been a crackdown on costs and most officials now fly economy. Of the 259 first-class flights last year, 80% were made by officials from the Ministry of Defence, who also accounted for 44% of all the known travel spending across central government.
But the NAO said the centre of government is not keeping track of travel costs, seeing this as departments’ own responsibility. “Travel expenditure is a small proportion of central government expenditure, but is of high public interest and misuse can cause serious reputational damage,” said the report.
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