Welsh Government spending priorities skewed

Wednesday, 9 May, 2012

Janet Finch-Saunders, Assembly Member for Aberconwy, called on the First Minister today to justify the high spending on excess relocation fares for Welsh Government employees which are paid for three years after the event.

Janet said: “The latest figures show that from December to February the unemployment figure in Wales rose by 1,000.

“I have figures showing that since 2008-09, the Welsh Government spent £2.177m on excess transport fares for staff as a result of relocation of offices.

“I am calling on the First Minister to look into excessive spends such as this so that extra funding can go into schemes such as the Young Recruit Programme, for which this spend could have funded two-thirds, or to funding 803 apprenticeships under the Young Recruits Programme.

“The First Minister is right to say that I am unhappy that these were funded by the money given by the UK Government for a council tax freeze when this money is wasted elsewhere.”

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The figures used come from WAQ60146:

Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): Will the Minister provide the total expenditure on excess fares which has been paid to Welsh Government staff, to date, as a result of relocating staff, for each year since 1999. (WAQ60146).

Jane Hutt: Expenditure onexcess fares for 2011-12 and previous three years is set out in the table below. The equivalent expenditure for 2007-08 and earlier years is archived and can only be determined at disproportionate cost.

Financial Year

£’000

2011-12*

658

2010-11

574

2009-10

544

2008-09

401

Note: The 2011-12 figure is our latest outturn and, as the 2011-12 accounts have not been audited, is subject to change.

Welsh Government staff are entitled to claim excess fares if they are asked to move from one office to another. Staff normally claim excess fares for 3 years. The vast majority of this expenditure relates to staff who have had to move offices as a result of the Welsh Government’s Location Strategy. This strategy is designed to rationalise our administrative estate and in so doing make significant savings against our accommodation budget.

The increase in annual costs over the past years is largely due to: the opening of new Government offices in Merthyr (2006), Aberystwyth (2009) and Llandudno Junction (2010); and the re-location of staff from offices we have closed as part of the Locations Strategy, for example in 2011 we closed the Plas Glyndwr office in Cardiff with a number of staff re-locating to Treforest.

Janet Finch-Saunders MS/AS

Welsh Government spending priorities skewed