2014-2015 Annual Expenditures for Travel, Hospitality and Conferences Report

As required by the Treasury Board Directive for the Management of Expenditures on Travel, Hospitality and Conferences, this report provides information on the total annual expenditures for each of travel, hospitality and conferences for Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015. It also provides the variance explanations from the previous fiscal year in each of these areas.

This information is updated annually and does not contain information withheld under the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act.

Expenditures on travel, hospitality and conferences incurred by federal departments and agencies are for the most part directly related to supporting departmental mandate(s) and the government's priorities.

The Board exists to ensure that Veterans, Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police members, and their families receive the benefits to which they are entitled under the law. The Board does this by providing an independent avenue of appeal for disability decisions made by Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). The Board's mission is to provide Veterans with timely, respectful hearings and fair, plain-language decisions.

Further detailed information on the Board's mandate, priorities, and program activities can be found in the 2015-16 Report on Plans and Priorities.

Expenditures for travel, hospitality and conferences are made in support of the Board's mandate and business objectives. The majority of travel expenditures relates to members who must travel to locations across Canada to conduct review hearings for Veterans.

Minimal hospitality expenditures generally are incurred to build and maintain relationships with various Veterans' organizations and support intensive professional development seminars. This allows members and staff to continuously improve program delivery.

Finally, in order to prepare the Board's Members and employees to address the varying needs of the traditional and modern day Veterans, they attend training and seminars to acquire the latest information to provide the best service.

Total annual expenditures for Travel, Hospitality and Conferences of Veterans Review and Appeal Board are summarized below:

¹ Actual variance is ($1K) as the total expenditure in 2014/15 was $4K, and not $10K which was the amount captured in the financial reporting system and includes $6K that was coded in error and cannot be corrected in the system.

Significant variances compared to the previous fiscal year.

TRAVEL:

1. Public Servants: Compared to fiscal year 2013-2014, departmental travel expenditures by public servants decreased mainly due to:
   • A more efficient scheduling model and using teleconferences, videoconferences and WebEx for meetings and training when the opportunity presented itself.
2. Non-Public Servants: Compared to fiscal year 2013-14, departmental travel expenditures by non-public servants increased mainly due to:
   • A change in Procurement reporting requirements which came into effect on April 1, 2014 for travel related to contracts for services with non-public servants. Previously, the payment or reimbursement of contractor travel expenses was included with the professional services expenditure.

HOSPITALITY:

• Compared to fiscal year 2013-2014, hospitality expenditures remained relatively the same.

CONFERENCE FEES:

• Compared to fiscal year 2013-2014, conference fees expenditures decreased mainly due to:
  • Reducing attendance at conference to every second year.
  • Sending one delegate instead of two or more to the same conference.