National Procurement, a branch of the NHS National Services Division, arranged for staff to have vehicles including a BMW convertible, an Audi TT and a trio of Range Rover Evoques, each worth almost £30,000. The Scottish Government-funded department is responsible for buying medical goods for the NHS and says one of its aims is to "increase savings".

Under a leasing programme for which taxpayers pick up the bulk of insurance, fuel, road tax and rental costs, about 40 employees enjoy driving to and from work in the cars.

A source said: "It's a disgrace that staff are being allowed these cars just for travelling between the two National Procurement sites, especially when there is a company pool car available that is hardly used, or staff could make use of public transport."

A spokesman for NHS Procurement said: "We reimburse regular business users for part of the costs of leasing a car. They pay for private use and pay for family use.

"If an employee wants a car other than the basic models, they pay the extra themselves."