Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands' trip to Catalonia in April 2022: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for the following:

1. The total cost of Cabinet Secretary Mairi Gougeon’s trip to Catalonia on the week commencing 25 April 2022, including the cost of travel, accommodation, and all expenses.

2. The Cabinet Secretary’s method of travel to and from Catalonia on the week commencing 25 April 2022.

3. How the Scottish Government is offsetting the carbon emissions for this trip in line with their policy on emissions.

Response

1. The total costs (Flights and hotels for the Cabinet Secretary, Private Office and Food and Drink officials) was: £3165.49. This can be split into circa £1340 in flights and £1850 in accommodation.

Incidental and meals expenses maybe claimed by officials in line with travel and subsistence policy and Ministerial expenses will be published in due course.

2. The Cabinet Secretary travelled to and from Catalonia by flight.

3. The Cabinet Secretary and officials used a low cost carrier to travel from Scotland to Catalonia for the visit.

A carbon emission levy is collected against air travel on a journey by journey basis. The levy aims to compensate for the carbon that our business travel generates. It raises funds that are put into projects that will remove the same amount of carbon from the atmosphere.

The carbon emissions levy is applied to all journeys undertaken by air as follows:

• Domestic – £5 per journey
• European – £6 per journey
• International – £15 per journey

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.