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ITEM EX24

EXECUTIVE – 22 JANUARY 2002

REVIEW OF GRANTS FOR PROVISION OF TRANSPORT SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS

Report by Director of Environmental Services


Introduction

  1. This report invites the Executive to consider future funding for various transport services currently funded by the County Council for people with mobility impairments. These comprise three Dial-a-Ride services in South Oxfordshire, a number of locally organised transport schemes, and two transport-related posts (the Oxfordshire Transport Co-ordinator and the Banbury Transport Co-ordinator), both currently funded by the County Council but employed by voluntary organisations. Detailed evaluations of each of these services have been compiled and this extensive Review together with supporting documentation has been placed in the Members’ Resource Centre.

    2. Review of ReadiBus Dial-a-Ride Services

  2. Current County Council funding arrangements for these three Dial-a-Ride (DAR) services currently operated by ReadiBus come to an end on 31 March 2002. These services provide pre-booked door-to-door transport to Reading using fully accessible vehicles for people in the communities of Goring, Henley and Tokers Green with mobility impairments who would not easily be able to use conventional public transport. A full evaluation of each service is contained in the Review, part 1.

  3. The continued success of the Goring service leads me to recommend that financial support for this service should be continued at the same level with an allowance for inflation. In view of its continued success, there is no reason why it needs to be reviewed again for some time. It is therefore suggested that a four-year agreement would now be appropriate in line with practice in respect of subsidised local bus services, subject to officers confirming each year that Goring Parish Council will continue its funding in the following financial year.

  4. As regards the Henley service, in the light of the lack of any adverse reaction to the new service level and the continuing relatively high number of registered passengers, I would recommend that the Executive continue to support this service based on the same pattern of service. It is suggested that the next review of this service take place after two years.

  5. Although the Tokers Green service is lightly used, there is no doubt that it is fulfilling an invaluable role to those who need it. It is hoped that further promotion will achieve an increase in usage. I would therefore recommend that the Executive continue to fund a DAR service to these communities for the financial year 2002/03, but reduced from two to one day per week operation at a total cost of £490.50. I propose a further review of this service in 12 months’ time, but should any adverse effects of this change be identified in the meantime, these will be reported to the Executive for consideration.

    6. Review of Grants for Locally Organised Transport Schemes

  6. The former Public Transport Sub-Committee gave grants for a number of locally organised transport schemes, some of which date back to the 1980s. In all these cases, the local community is either providing funds or volunteer effort and therefore their absolute cost is low. Of these, four schemes (Finstock, North Hinksey, Grove and Yarnton) are now due for redetermination and a full evaluation of them is contained in the Review, part 2.

  7. The absolute cost of the Finstock scheme, which offers a voluntary car service for residents to visit the doctor’s surgery in Charlbury, is very low and its organisation costs are minimal. Since, however, bus services in the area have improved, I could only justify continuation of this service if there is positive support for it from the Parish Council. I am therefore only recommending that the Executive pay up to £100 for the continuation of the Finstock Car Scheme for the 2002/03 financial year, subject to written confirmation being received from the Parish Council indicating its support for this service.

  8. The County Council co-funds with North Hinksey Parish Council a weekly shoppers’ bus service to Oxford from Elms Rise Estate and North Hinksey Village. There have however been two major changes to other bus services in the North Hinksey area, which are set out in detail in the Review. These are such that there seems little benefit in the County Council continuing to subsidise this discrete shoppers’ service after the current agreement ends on 31 March 2002. It is of course still open for North Hinksey Parish Council to fund the service itself. However it might be a more sensible use of its funding if it were to support the Dial-a-Ride services into its area. If however the Parish Council still feels the need for this bespoke service, officers will willingly investigate the matter further and hold discussions with Parish representatives.

  9. The Grove Community Car Scheme originally replaced a withdrawn local bus service but now specifically offers the facility for people with mobility impairments from two sheltered homes to travel within Grove or to Wantage for shopping or surgeries. It is clear from the review that at present there is no feasible alternative for its users. Nevertheless officers are concerned at the high costs of administration as a result of gearing through the decline in passenger usage. The Executive is therefore recommended to authorise a grant of £2516.16 to secure the continuation for a further 12 months of this service specifically for people with mobility impairments who cannot use conventional local transport, but to agree that officers should explore further whether the administration costs of this transport scheme could be restructured with a view to reducing these costs on our budget in future years.

  10. Similarly I consider that a further review is needed concerning the financing of the Yarnton Care Committee Shopping Minibus Service, even though it is a very worthwhile project for those with mobility impairments to enable them to travel to the Kidlington shops. As explained in the Review, part 2, officers are concerned at the differential between fares charged on this service and the standard bus service which is subsidised by the County Council. It may also be possible for the scheme’s administrators to make arrangements with Cherwell District Council to offer a concessionary fare to passengers in line with that District Council’s appropriate scheme. In this case therefore I am recommending that the Executive enables this service to continue until 31 March 2003 by means of a grant of £185, but that officers discuss with the scheme administrators the question of fare levels and future financing of this service, which may as a result enable it to become self-financing.

    11. Review of Transport Co-ordinator Posts

  11. These two posts are currently funded by the County Council, but employed by voluntary organisations; the Oxfordshire Transport Co-ordinator, employed by Oxfordshire Council for Voluntary Action (OCVA) and the Banbury Transport Co-ordinator, employed by Banburyshire Community Transport Association (BCTA). These posts were last reviewed by the former Public Transport Sub-Committee in 1999 when it was agreed to continue funding them until 31 March 2002. The exact resolutions and the conditions attaching to the agreements are detailed in the full evaluation of these two posts, set out in the Review, part 3.

  12. The overall aim of these two posts, as set out in the Service Agreements attaching to the funding of these posts, is to enable and co-ordinate extra journeys for people in Oxfordshire with mobility impairments. The direct day-to-day running of such journeys is not the task of either of the postholders.

  13. OCVA has requested a further three-year continuation of funding of the Oxfordshire Co-ordinator’s post from Oxfordshire County Council at the current level (£25,106) plus allowance for inflation and yearly wage increment. OCVA points out that "the County Council’s funding for this post over the last three years has enabled the Co-ordinator within his work to attract some additional £117,000 of capital funding and £132,000 of extra revenue funding for the Ring-a-Ride project from sources other than the Oxfordshire County Council."

  14. The conclusion which I draw from my full review is that this post and the current postholder are indeed fulfilling the aims set out in the Service Agreement and that continued funding is justified. I do not however consider that the request from the Consultative Committee on Transport for Mobility Impaired People (CCTMIP) for additional funding for this post (see Review, part 3) has been adequately justified and indeed OCVA has itself not requested this. I am therefore proposing a further three-year contract on current terms, as well as the continuation of the £3,000 funding to meet the costs of training volunteer drivers of minibuses used by people with mobility impairments.

  15. The Chairman of Banburyshire Community Transport Association has requested that no change is made to the principle of County Council support for the Banbury Transport Co-ordinator’s post (BTC). The BTC’s recent report requests the same level of funding as at present with an in-built inflation factor for a further three years. County Council funding of this 3-day per week post (which is also part-funded by Cherwell District Council) amounted to £5,722 in 2001/02, plus a further £500 to meet the costs of training volunteer drivers of minibuses used by people with mobility impairments.

  16. From the arguments set out in my review (Review part 3), it is clear that the attempt of the Public Transport Sub-Committee at the last review to lay down a firm strategy for the BTC postholder according to the County Council’s perceptions for this post which would then be carried out, has failed, in that the postholder continues to focus on direct service provision rather than advising and assisting others. Nevertheless, as is shown in the BTC’s report, the use of Dial-a-Ride and other services has built up extremely well in the Cherwell District Council area. However some of these services (e.g. the Cherwell Villager) lie outside the remit of designated services for people with mobility impairments for which this Council’s grant is directed.

  17. The Executive is therefore faced with two options. It can continue to fund the work of the BTC with little control over the work that the current postholder carries out, accept that its funding is not going to be used primarily for its specified requirements, and accept that the Service Agreement as determined by the Public Transport Sub-Committee is never going to be effective. In this case, it would be necessary to rewrite the Service Agreement to reflect the actual activities of the postholder. It may further be felt that this should be conditional on additional Dial-A-Ride provision in the Cherwell district, and that this should be reviewed next at the next Dial-a-Ride Review. If the Executive takes this decision, I do not consider that the request from the CCTMIP for additional funding for this post, equivalent to an extra 0.5 day per week, (see Review part 3), can be justified, since the postholder should already be carrying out this work within the present County Council funding.

  18. The alternative decision for the Executive would be to cease to fund the BTC post from 1 April 2002. If this decision were taken, there should in principle be no danger to the Dial-a-Ride facility in Cherwell District, which is funded under a separate agreement which runs till 31 March 2003. A reduction in overall funding to BCTA might however have an adverse impact on Dial-a-Ride in practice. If BCTA wishes to seek extra funding for Dial-a-Ride, this would need to be the subject of a different grant-funding application and full justification for such funding would need to be made. It would of course be open to Cherwell District Council to continue funding its share of the BTC post, if it felt that this should be done, and indeed to increase its funding, although this latter is highly improbable.

  19. Should the Executive decide to cease funding the BTC, the County Council’s funding could then be earmarked for an alternative provider who would be prepared to abide by the principles of the County Council’s Service Agreement and who would, at a time when the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council (ORCC) is working with the County Council and other partners in the expansion of Rural Transport Partnership (RTP) schemes, make a positive contribution to such expansion. I am of the opinion that such an approach would be welcomed by the ORCC.

  20. If the Executive accepts this latter decision, officers would then investigate as to the best way in which to achieve the Council’s aims and report back to the Executive as soon as possible with firm proposals.

    21. Financial and Staff Implications

  21. The cost of funding these schemes would be within the existing level of provision. Funding of the two Transport Co-ordinator posts mainly cover additional work, but if they were not funded, undoubtedly some of the work currently covered would have to be carried out by the County Council’s own staff.

    22. Implications for People Living in Poverty

  22. These various services aim to enable extra transport opportunities for people with mobility impairments or the elderly. The people who benefit from them are more likely than other sections of the population to have low incomes. These extra transport opportunities improve access to community facilities and therefore contribute to improving the quality of life for some people living in poverty.

    23. RECOMMENDATIONS

  23. The Executive is RECOMMENDED:

          1. to pay ReadiBus up to £978.50 per annum but with continuing annual adjustments for inflation to secure the continuation of the Dial-a-Ride service in Goring for a period of four years commencing 1 April 2002, subject to Goring Parish Council continuing their financial support for this service at the current level;

          2. to pay ReadiBus up to £1820.36 per annum but with continuing annual adjustments for inflation to secure the continuation of the Dial-a-Ride service between Henley and Reading for a period of two years commencing 1 April 2002;

          3. to pay ReadiBus up to £490.50 per annum for the 2002/03 financial year to secure the continuation of the Dial-a-Ride service between Dyson’s Wood, Tokers Green, Chazey Heath and Reading on one day per week;

          4. to pay up to £100 per annum for the 2002/03 financial year to secure the continuation of the Finstock Car Scheme, subject to written confirmation being received from the Parish Council indicating its support for this service;

          5. not to make any financial contribution to the cost of the North Hinksey Shoppers’ service for the financial year 2002/03 and to instruct officers to discuss alternatives with North Hinksey Parish Council;

          6. to pay up to £2516.16 per annum for the financial year 2002/03 to secure the continuation of the Grove Community Car Scheme organised by the Independent Advice Centre, Wantage (IAC) on condition that this service is restricted to those with mobility impairments who cannot use conventional local transport, and to agree that officers should explore further with IAC whether the administration costs of this transport scheme could be restructured with a view to reducing these costs on the County Council’s public transport budget in future years;

          7. to pay up to £185 from 13 February 2002 until 31 March 2003 (£165 per annum in 2002/03) to secure the continuation of the Yarnton Care Committee Shopping Minibus Scheme, on condition that this service is restricted to those with mobility impairments who cannot use conventional local transport, but to agree that officers explore with the scheme administrators the question of fare levels and future financing of this service;

          8. to pay Oxfordshire Council for Voluntary Action (OCVA) up to £25,106 at 2001/02 levels plus an allowance for inflation and wage increments per year until 31 March 2005 to continue the work of the Oxfordshire Transport Co-ordinator;

          9. to fund a sum of up to £3,000 per year to meet the costs of training for volunteer drivers of minibuses used by people with mobility impairments, which would either be paid to OCVA or paid as the local contribution towards a Rural Transport Partnership driver training project if Countryside Agency funding to enhance this grant under a Rural Transport Partnership initiative can be obtained;

          10. that the County Council cease funding the work of the Banbury Transport Co-ordinator after 31 March 2002 and that Banburyshire Community Transport Association and Cherwell District Council be informed accordingly;

          11. that the budget available for this post and for the associated driver training be earmarked for an alternative provider who would be prepared to abide by the principles of the current County Council Service Agreement for the BTC, and that officers be asked to investigate in consultation with Cherwell District Council and the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council as to the best way in which to achieve this Council’s aims;

          12. that BCTA be advised that, if it feels that new funding is justified for Dial-a-Ride or other services which it operates, it should make a separate application giving full justification for this on its own merit and with full supporting financial information;

          13. to authorise the Director of Environmental Services in consultation with the Executive Member for Transport, to derermine any proposals arising from (k) and (l) above, generally within the level of the existing funding.

DAVID YOUNG
Director of Environmental Services

Background papers: Correspondence with service providers and user representatives (refer to contact officer)

Contact Officer: Alan Pope Tel: Oxford 815585

January 2002

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