Humza Yousaf spends £70k on New York climate visit

Scottish Liberal Democrats have today highlighted new documents which reveal that the Scottish Government spend almost £70k flying the First Minister and ten staff to New York Climate Week in September.

A document, published on the final Scottish Parliament sitting day before Christmas, reveals that the Scottish Government spent £32,948.95 on accommodation, £26,013.91 on travel to New York, £4707.86 on subsistence & Expenses and £6263.98 on cars for 11 people including the FM to go to New York between 17-21 September 2023.

This is the equivalent of more than £6,300 a head, or nearly £1,300 per person per day.

Among the announcements made by Humza Yousaf was a £300,000 programme to support loss and damage work in Malawi.

Finance spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP said:

"It seems absurd that the costs of the trip were equivalent to nearly a quarter of one of the international funds he went to announce. It suggests that this visit was always more about playing dress up diplomat that tackling the climate crisis.

"The costs of foreign trips need to be justified and in line with the expectations the public have about how their taxes are being used.

"While the First Minister jets around the globe, Scotland has missed its climate change targets once again, native species are going extinct and the amount of sewage dumped in our rivers has risen by almost a third last year. If you care about the state of our natural environment, it's clear that it is time to kick out the SNP."