First Minister Humza Yousaf orders review over £14.2m Scottish civil service bank card spend | UK News

Humza Yousaf has ordered a review of Scottish government bank card spending by civil servants.

The first minister announced the move after it was revealed £14.2m of taxpayers’ cash was spent by Scottish civil servants in three years.

The spree included almost £10,000 on VIP airport upgrades and more than £32,000 on team-building exercises.

Other purchases by senior staff included yoga classes, nail polish, and £4,182 for hospitality and hotel accommodation at the five-star Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire.

Wellington boots “for inspections”, China crockery for a meeting room, and a staff member’s driving theory test were also paid for via the credit card-style cards.

The Scottish government said it cannot comment on the first minister’s travel arrangements due to security reasons but confirmed Mr Yousaf has asked permanent secretary John-Paul Marks to review the spending procedures for the cards.

A spokesperson said: “The Scottish government is committed to delivering the best value for money for taxpayers and proactively publishes information about spending to improve openness and transparency.

“Spending through electronic purchasing cards is used to support government officials during their usual course of work such as on training, catering, room hire and one-off supplies.

“The cards are not for personal expenditure and there are robust authorisation and regular auditing arrangements are in place to monitor their use.”

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The Scottish government issues its senior staff with electronic purchasing cards for buying goods and services up to a value of £5,000 per transaction.

A summary of purchases more than £500 is officially published, but Scottish Labour obtained a full breakdown of the 58,751 transactions made between September 2019 and August last year.

It revealed that £9,898 was spent on airport upgrades for former first minister Nicola Sturgeon and her staff, including fast-track services through check-in and security and access to VIP lounges.

Team-building exercises cost a total of £32,995 during the three-year timeframe and included a £375 bill from Brewhemia pub in Edinburgh, trips to bowling alleys, escape rooms and crazy golf venues, and £1,693 on an “away day discussion” at the Seamill Hydro Hotel in Ayrshire.

Part of Edinburgh Zoo was also hired out by staff, costing taxpayers £2,000, while further activities included purchases of ping pong balls, chocolate mice, play dough and paper planes.

The majority of the items included everyday purchases for civil servants working from home during the COVID lockdown, including computer monitors.

Around 3,000 entries had no description against them, while more than £25,000 of fraudulent transactions occurred on the cards and were flagged up for refunds.

The Scottish government explained that the majority of the fraudulent transactions were attributed to one cardholder, who “proactively identified the spending” and claimed the purchases had taken place without their knowledge. The card was cancelled and the relevant transactions repaid through bank protection processes.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland on Wednesday, Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray said the data made for “uncomfortable reading” and said Mr Yousaf was right to order a review.