Revised motor travel and subsistence rates for civil servants are expected to be announced shortly. Unions and management are close to reaching agreement on new rates after an adjudication on a new system to calculate the rates concluded last December. 

Under the terms of the Haddington Road Agreement, the Government signalled its intention to conduct a review of how the rates are calculated. The agreement committed unions and management to cooperating with the review, and with the implementation of a standardised system of travel and subsistence across the public service.

IMPACT national secretary Andy Pike said he hoped to see the revised system finalised and agreed by the end of February. “The revised system under discussion takes account of both overhead and running costs of using a vehicle for official purposes. It also provides a methodology that can be easily updated with new data. The intention is to create a more transparent method for the review of motor travel rates in future,” he said.

IMPACT will publish details and an FAQ document on the new rates as soon as they become available.