Civil servants racking up air miles as perks from taxpayer-funded flights

Monday 18 April 2016

Top civil servants have been allowed to personally build up huge numbers of air mile points on taxpayer-funded flights through the States’ travel booking system.

States Chief Executive John Richardson clashed with the head of the States’ spending watchdog over Avios points at a hearing on Friday, describing questions on the system that booked most flights through British Airways as “inappropriate”.

And he said that under the new travel policy senior staff may be able to keep the air mile points as “compensation” for travelling at weekends.

Last week it was revealed that civil servants have spent close to £400,000 on flights costing more than £1,000 per ticket in the last five years. The story came out into the open when details leaked about Economic Development Chief Officer Mike King and Locate Jersey Director Wayne Gallichan spending £6,442 each on Business Class flights to a mining conference in Cape Town in February.

But it turns out that both “Adviser – international affairs” Colin Powell and Director of Financial Services Joe Moynihan have both taken more expensive flights over the same period – unlike Mr King and Mr Gallichan, they are not facing disciplinary action over their travel expenses.

Mr Richardson told the Public Accounts Committee that some ministers had effectively over-ruled States financial rules which require civil servants to fly economy while ministers fly business class – he said that they made the decision so that politicians could sit with staff through the flight, but did not explain why officers were allowed to “upgrade” instead of asking ministers to fly economy.

He also said that some staff had gold or silver cards with BA, which allowed them to claim extra Avios points for flights that they had booked, on top of the normal points allowance which went to the States.

Asked by PAC Chairman Andrew Lewis whether he was comfortable with civil servants being effectively incentivised to book flights through BA to accrue some personal benefit, Mr Richardson said that the question was “inappropriate”.

“Our system is what is causing it, not staff,” said Mr Richardson.

“To immediately infer that it is our officers making the decision, there might be some of that, but when you look at the system, you saw it yesterday – [for long-haul flights] the system will predominantly give us Jersey to London, and London to X destination.

“It pretty much automatically diverts to our national carrier BA.”

And he added that within the Chief Minister’s department, ministers had effectively over-ruled the financial directions to upgrade civil servants’ flights.

He said: “Right at the outset, my own department has not actually complied with the absolute letter of the law on Financial Direction 5.7. It is very clear in my department and clear from the evidence we have provided, that when politicians travel, they travel business class. If I apply 5.7 by the letter, the officers supporting those politicians travel economy.

“We have made the decision, supported by the respective ministers, that the officers travelling with them will travel business class. Where we have made a mistake, and we will be open about it, is we have not necessarily signed off a specific piece of paper.”