States' £150K Taxi Bill

Tuesday, 22 January 2019 14:30

The States of Jersey spent £143,188 on taxi fares in 2018.

A Freedom of Information request from Channel 103 has revealed the bill picked up by taxpayers.

The total for the year includes taxi journeys taken both on and off the island.

Of the £143,188, almost half was on patient transfers or towards drivers for children with special needs:

Department	Amount *Paid*
Health and Social Services (patient transfers)	£50,597.61
Education (paid to drivers of children with special educational needs)	£19,231.22
Sub Total	£69,828.83

The remaining £73,359.27 was spent by States departments, averaging £1,410 a week.

The Health Department's bill was £23,315, the External Relations' was £10,268 and the Chief Minister's department spent £15,320 on fares.

States CEO Charlie Parker spent £944 on 33 taxis journeys. We're told he shared 'the majority' of those with other passengers.

A breakdown of other individual spends for heads of departments was 'not possible' because of time and cost constraints of the FOI law.

The Environment Department spent the least - just £38 over the course of the year.

You can see a full breakdown of the amount spent below. However, the States says some figures are only approximate because of the 'One Government' restructure.

Department	Amount *Paid*
States Assembly	£229.86
External Relations	£10,268.13
Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture	£181.91
Chief Minister’s Department	£15,320.23
Children's Services	£7,550.36
Health and Social Services	£23,315.18
Education	£6,146.39
Community and Constitutional Affairs (including Police)	£5,976.46
Treasury and Resources	£3,455.39
Social Security	£419.76
Department for Infrastructure	£457.56
Department of Environment	£38.00
Sub Total	£73,359.27

According to the government's rules, taxis can be used if one or more of broad four conditions are met, that is - for speed, practicality, safety or medical reasons:

"Taxis may be used if this is the best value for money form of transport (eg. two or three officers travel together) or if there are other good reasons for doing so, such as: Speed (eg. the officer is running late for a meeting or flight), Practicality (eg. the destination is situated a long way from any public transport, the officer is travelling with large amounts of luggage or equipment, this is the only means of transport in the event of a strike), Safety (eg. travelling outside of commuting hours or in an unknown area to ensure personal safety) or medical reasons (eg. disability)."

-States of Jersey Travel and Accommodation Guidance