The Department of Health spent £9.3 million on business travel in the 2008/09 financial year, including £622,806 on taxis, according to figures released by the Department after a Freedom of Information request by Public Sector Travel.

The FoI request also reveals that the Department has a much greater visibility of its spend after it introduced a new finance system in July 2008. A Department spokesperson said the system “allows for greater reporting on, among other items, staff expenses”.

Previously, the Department had to rely on figures provided by its travel management company. In the 2007/08 financial year, the DH spent £6.57 million on domestic and international travel, including £395,897 on taxis.

The department also said that the new finance system allowed it to track subsistence claims more closely. It said that in the period 1 July 2008 to 31 March 2009, DH staff were reimbursed a total of £288,033 for UK and overseas subsistence.

DH staff also made claims for £439,641 for hospitality “in the context of promoting the Department’s business objectives”. It said: “All such expenditure is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety. The hospitality spend includes the cost of providing, where appropriate, refreshments at meetings.”

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