The list of items claimed on expenses by the SNP government

The Scottish first minister has ordered a review into civil servant spending after it was revealed £14.2m of taxpayers' money was used on electronic purchasing cards in three years.

Humza Yousaf announced the move when it emerged millions of pounds had been spent from September 2019 to August 2022, including nearly £10,000 on VIP airport upgrades.

Other expenditures that were made when Nicola Sturgeon was leader, included £32,000 on team building exercises, £5,000 at five-star Gleneagles Hotel and £25,397 listed as “fraudulent transactions”.

Some £272 was spent on wellies, while £24.99 went on heel stoppers.

An SNP spokesperson said: "The Scottish government is committed to delivering the best value for money for taxpayers and proactively publishes information about spending to improve openness and transparency.

"Spending through electronic purchasing cards is used to support government officials during their usual course of work such as on training, catering, room hire and one-off supplies.

"The cards are not for personal expenditure and there are robust authorisation and regular auditing arrangements are in place to monitor their use."

Senior Scottish civil service staff are given electronic purchasing cards to obtain goods and services up to £5,000 per transaction.

Usually, a summary of purchases over £500 is made available, but Scottish Labour has obtained a full list of 58,751 transactions.

Approximately 3,000 entries did not have a description.

Here’s an overview of the list of transactions made from September 2019 to August 2022:

£32,000: Team-building exercises. These included hiring Edinburgh Zoo for £2,000, spending £1,693 at Seamill Hydro hotel, a £375 bill at Brewhemia pub and a £65 Yoga class.

£25,397: “Fraudulent transactions”, including £90.25 at Domino’s Pizza and £44.48 at Just Eat. The Scottish government said most of these fraudulent transactions were attributed to one cardholder who claimed the purchases were made without their knowledge.

£10,000: VIP airport upgrades.

£5,000: Five-star Gleneagles hotel.

£349: Dyson vacuum cleaner.

£272: Wellies

£144: Refund for a Hoover.

£74: Two driving tests.

£36: Government branded t-shirt for a bee inspector.

£27: Paypal charge for eBay home disco.

£24.99: Heel stoppers for an event in Berlin involving Nicola Sturgeon.

£10.50: Three bottles of nail polish.