Question reference: S5W-30851
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 21 July 2020
-
Current status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 10 August 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has given to its departments and agencies on the appropriateness of officials undertaking domestic and international air travel.
Answer
Scottish Government guidance, which has been in place since 2011 to assist public bodies in complying with their statutory climate change duties under the Climate Change Scotland Act 2009, says that business travel policies can lead to a reduction in emissions and that public bodies should seek to put in place a travel plan for business travel, travel by staff to and from work, and travel by visitors to and from the service provided and to reduce emissions associated with staff travel by using more sustainable modes of transport and travelling less frequently. The guidance has a specific section on transport with suggestions on how public bodies can reduce their operational emissions or influence wider emissions reduction from the transport sector.
Agencies set their own travel policy for undertaking domestic and international air travel.
All core Scottish Government staff must follow the sustainable travel policy to choose the most efficient form of transport.
The following guidance is published on the Scottish Government’s internal intranet page:-
Domestic flights
Air travel within the mainland United Kingdom should only be made with Director level (or above) approval.
Last minute bookings should be avoided. In exceptional circumstances, or where the Director is not available, retrospective Director level approval can be sought. However, before bookings are made you should discuss it with your line manager and inform your Director’s office of your intentions.
Travel to London
Sustainable Scotland’s “Doing their Duty” report published in 2013 states that Public Bodies should put in place robust travel policies that rule out air travel, except in exceptional circumstances, for travel between the Scottish Central Belt and London.
Therefore, the presumed method of travel for staff going to London on official business is rail. Staff who intend to fly to London must obtain Director level authorisation. The journey time from central Edinburgh or Glasgow to central London by train is around 4 hours 40 minutes which is comparable with the equivalent journey by air. The SG’s Travel Agent can provide more detailed information on fares and ticket types.