Salary sacrifice scheme information: FOI release

Information requested

1. the number of phones bought via a salary sacrifice scheme by employees in your department, in the tax years 2023-24 and 2024-25 (detailed separately), and b) the total value of those purchases.

2. the number of laptops bought via a salary sacrifice scheme by employees in your department, in the tax years 2023-24 and 2024-25 (detailed separately), and b) the total value of those purchases.

3. the number of cars bought via a salary sacrifice scheme by employees in your department, in the tax years 2023-24 and 2024-25 (detailed separately), and b) the total value of those purchases.

4. the number of bicycles bought via a salary sacrifice scheme by employees in your department, in the tax years 2023-24 and 2024-25 (detailed separately), and b) the total value of those purchases.

5. Confirmation (yes/no) on whether you use Wider Plan as a provider for salary sacrifice schemes.

Response

Questions 1, 2, 3
The Scottish Government does not currently run salary sacrifice schemes to purchase phones, laptops or cars, therefore the answer to these questions is nil.

Question 4

The Scottish Government does not provide a scheme that enables employees to purchase a bicycle through salary sacrifice arrangements. Rather the Scottish Government provides an arrangement that enables employees to hire cycles for active travel and/or cyclist’s safety equipment in return for a monthly deduction from their earnings over a 12-month period.

Please find in the table below the number and total value of vouchers for staff in Scottish Government Core to hire cycles for active travel and/or cyclist’s safety equipment at the end of each financial year. 

We have used the date that the bike/equipment was hired in the requested tax year, however the salary sacrifice might not have been set up until after the reporting period.

The table shows the number of bicycles/equipment that were hired via the scheme and the total value of those loans. The figures are the value of the vouchers, please note the vouchers can also be used solely for safety equipment.

Tax Year	Number of bicycles / equipment	Total value of vouchers
2023/2024	175	£273,125.49
2024/2025	162	£249,422.21

There is an option at the end of the hire period for the staff member to purchase the bike, but this arrangement is done directly with the bike supplier and therefore we do not hold information on this arrangement. Therefore, whilst our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the data that you have requested on the number of bicycles bought via salary sacrifice and the total value of purchases in the tax years 2023-24 and 2024-25. This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

Question 5

No, the Scottish Government does not use Wider Plan as a provider for our salary sacrifice scheme.

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.