Transport Scotland Air Discount Scheme and air fares: EIR release

Information requested

• How much has Transport Scotland/Scottish Government spent on the Air Discount Scheme in the financial years 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25?
• Can this be categorised into types of spend i.e. air fares, admin etc?
• Can the spend on air fares also be split into islands from which passengers were registered to - Colonsay, Orkney, Shetland, the Western Isles, Islay, Jura, Caithness and parts of Sutherland?

Response

2022-23

Cost	Amount (£)
Reimbursement to airlines	9,962,305.49
Administration	331,071.83
Sums reclaimed from misuse of scheme	-29,904.31
Loganair Covid-19 loan repayment	-2,000,000
Total	7,993,473.01

2023-24

Cost	Amount (£)
Reimbursement to airlines	12,293,643.38
Administration	362,537.39
Sums reclaimed from misuse of scheme	-26,739.57
Total	12,629,441.20

2024-25

Cost	Amount (£)
Reimbursement to airlines	13,178,045.22
Administration	325,515.83
Sums reclaimed from misuse of scheme	-27,100.52
Total	13,476,460.53

For reimbursement to airline figures, please note that these figures reflect the sum of claims for reimbursement paid to airlines in the relevant periods. This may differ from the period the claim covers e.g. March claims appear in the following financial year as that’s when they are paid. Airlines’ claims relate to the date of purchase of tickets, not the date of travel. Figures include flights where reimbursement was subsequently requested from the passenger due to misuse.

Figures include actual claims from airlines and administration costs which may differ from formal accounts which include accruals.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. Under the terms of Section 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for in relation to splitting air fares information into islands from which passengers were registered to. Collating that information would require monitoring of individual scheme members’ travel. It is our view that this would be an unacceptable invasion of privacy and is not something that is done.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption. While we recognise that there may be public interest in splitting air fares information into islands from which passengers were registered to, we cannot provide information that we do not hold.

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the EIRs, we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA. This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'.

Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

About FOI

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