£130m saving possible
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A NATIONAL saving of £130m could be made without a drop in standards if local authorities managed their fleets more efficiently, the Audit Commission reports in its first special study on vehicle fleet management in local government.
The Commission has decided that transport will be one of the services on which auditors will place emphasis in auditing the local government accounts for the present financial year.
Commenting on the study, audit controller John Benham said: "Local authorities in England and Wales spend around flbn a year on transport of which about £700m is on their own fleets of vehicles but because control of this expenditure is often shared between several local government departments, where it may represent only a small proportion of the total budget, this area doesn't always get the attention it warrants."
The report cites about 20 areas where the Commission thinks improvements can be achieved. It also sets out a number of indicators by which local authorities can judge their efficiency.
The Commission advises that in some cases, notably cars and light vans, the contract hire rates offered by commercial firms are very competitive and are cheaper than in-house costs in many authorities. It also thinks that reserve vehicle levels are often higher than they need be.
Other ways of controlling fleet size include different departments pooling vehicles such as minibuses, and authorities could co-operate by interhiring spare vehicles and contracting out maintenance.
The Commission also recommends in its report that running costs can be reduced by servicing vehicles after set mileage instead of irrespective of mileage since the last check so that fewer days will be missed from service.
The Commission also considers that the practices which its report outlines, would be difficult to achieve unless transport responsibilities were centralised.
The report, "Improving vehicle fleet management in local government A study by the Audit Commission" is available from HMSO for £3.50.
e -Local authority transport; the next candidate for privatisation?" is the subject for discussion at a national conference organised by Public Sector Management for December 5 at the Barbican Centre in London.
PSM is one of the two consultancy firms that undertook the study on which the new Audit Commission report is based. The conference will be looking at the implications of the report. For more information ring Tony Houghton on 049 162 705.