School’s in. Summer evenings, hopes for world rugby domination and our no-Defence Secretary, are all out. Rumours that he and Hague were already collaborating on a very British version of Friends were scotched, indeed rubbished (along with security documents, constituency mail and his reputation) by Oliver Letwin. Some month for the Government, but they have reported considerable travel savings.

£138M has been saved, audited and signed off by the ERG. Stranger still, the majority was proclaimed by an incumbent that might well wish to be seen to be doing what it is paid to do, especially as it hopes to win another term in office.

What immaculate timing. Can such claims stand scrutiny? Have civil servants continued beavering around the country, and indeed the world, with the post election axe still hovering above their job-fearful heads?

Endlessly racking up the same amount of travel miles, hotels and expenses, they miraculously managed to do this for £138m less. I wonder – it is perhaps possible, especially if a suitable get-out clause was chosen. Though I choose to assume that they are proclaiming proudly that they simply don’t travel anymore. How modern.

Of course, questioning the actual need to travel remains rule number one in any travel policy.

Q: Do you need to travel?
A: (invariably) Probably not.

Post election, non-essential travel was ruled out. In fact all spending, aside from a new office for a deputy PM and new PM ‘friends’, was ruled out. These hard times seemed an ideal opportunity to homogenise departmental travel policy but it hasn’t happened. Some managed to hurdle this perennial stumbling block. Others (stand up again MOD) did not.

The ‘return on investment’ is the principal travel qualifier – what more do you gain from a face-to-face meeting? Could we use Webex, Skype, video-conferencing or simply pick up the phone? Of course we could.

Demands made of TMCs to facilitate the mechanisms to deliver sustainable alternatives were quickly removed from the recent Government RFP. Why? Surely such a demand was not beyond any of the combatants.

Sadly that chance has gone. We await news (with no surprises) on just who has secured that RFP. We must now look to colleagues in the wider public sector, with their oft over-looked billions of travel spend, to learn from our mistakes and ensure that their forthcoming travel procurement fairs far better.

The university challenge remains the protectionist owners of often very hard-earned grant funding, but the most hard boiled of eggs and department heads must see the logic of releasing travel spend to travel spend managers. Trust them to manage travel whilst academics concentrate on their core activities. These monies can no longer be considered untouchable and therefore beyond policy. Many millions of travel pounds will need consolidation. In our new private education system, OJEU considerations may well take a back seat. Openness, clarity, clearly defined specifications, joined up policy and an appetite for real dialogue and change should see the seats of learning teaching us all a very valuable procurement lesson.

• This column represents the views of the author and are not necessarily those of Public Sector Travel.

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