Policy on Disposal of Minibuses
Perth and Kinross Council · 18 September 2024
Back to Finance and Resources Committee — 18 September 2024 and its agenda
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PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL Finance and Resources Committee 18 September 2024 POLICY ON DISPOSAL OF MINIBUSES Report by Strategic Lead - Environment and Infrastructure (Report No. 24/263) 1. PURPOSE 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek approval of Finance & Resources Committee to amend the Council’s policy on the disposal of Fleet and Mechanical Equipment with specific regard to minibuses which have reached the end of their operational life within Council service. 2. RECOMMENDATION 2.1 It is recommended that the Committee: • approves the Policy for Disposal of Minibuses as set out in Appendix 1. • approves the application process and assessment criteria for community groups applying to take ownership of an end of operational life minibus within Council service as set out in Appendix 2. • approves the use of up to £50k from the Anti Poverty Measures Fund in earmarked reserves to support any required repair work to minibuses for MOT purposes before transfer to community groups. 3. STRUCTURE OF REPORT 3.1 This report is structured over the following sections: • Section 4: Background • Section 5: Proposal • Section 6: Conclusion • Appendices 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 4. BACKGROUND 4.1 It was reported to Finance and Resources Committee on 12 June 2024 that the disposal of minibuses currently falls under the existing general policy for the disposal of Fleet & Mechanical Equipment approved as an appendix to the Fleet & Mechanical Equipment Asset Management Plan agreed by Strategic Policy & Resources Committee in June 2015 (report 15/255 refers). The current policy was last reviewed in 2022 and was attached for information to the F&R Cttee report on 12 June.
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4.2 It was agreed at Committee that the policy position of disposal at public auction be changed to allow minibuses which are deemed to be in suitable condition to be transferred to community groups. This innovative approach would remove a barrier to some groups, particularly those in rural areas, who may not otherwise have access to their own transport solution with positive links to help mitigate some of the issues around transport poverty and social connectivity etc. 4.3 There are 14 minibuses due to reach end of operational life within Council service this financial year as set out in Appendix 5, 3 of which have already been removed from service and currently retained at Friarton Depot pending the outcome of this report. 4.4 The determination of what constitutes ‘suitable condition’ referred to in 4.2 includes consideration of the following factors which are applied by our experienced workshop staff to every vehicle which has reached the end of its operational life within Council service; • Cost of parts and labour • Downtime • Age of vehicle • Condition of external body (corrosion/ defects) • Condition of internal devices (damage or defects to seats etc) • Condition of paintwork • Cost of repair versus market value of vehicle 4.5 It is known amongst Members that there are several community groups who could potentially be interested in receiving and operating an ex-PKC minibus. It was acknowledged therefore that some form of adjudication process would be required if more than one group expressed an interest in taking ownership of a minibus, further detail of which is set out in this report. 4.6 The draft minibus disposal policy was discussed at a Strategic Investment Advisory Group (SIAG) meeting held on 3 September 2024, input from which has been incorporated into the final version presented to Committee today. 5. PROPOSAL 5.1 That the proposed Minibus Disposal Policy as set out in Appendix 1 be approved as an amendment to the overarching Fleet & Mechanical Equipment Disposal Policy to enable the transfer of end of operational life minibuses within Council service in a suitable condition to community groups. 5.2 That the determination of what constitutes ‘suitable condition’ referred to in 4.4 above be considered alongside the SIAG recommendation that the Anti- Poverty Measures Fund from earmarked reserves be used to support repair costs for MOT purposes before transfer. It should be noted that all future ownership responsibilities including minibus repairs, maintenance and servicing costs etc are to be borne by the community group going forward with no recourse to the Council.
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5.3 It is proposed that a working repair budget principal of up to £5k per vehicle be applied with flexibility on a case by case basis as required. This decision would be made by Fleet Services within the overall funding resource approved by Committee. 5.4 An assessment /adjudication of the community benefit and need for a minibus by a community group is to be performed based on the criteria shown in Appendices 2, 3 and 4. This assessment and decision making to be carried out by PKC Community Services, supported by Fleet Services for the communication and management of the process. 5.5 A communications plan for community groups be set out describing the application process, assessment criteria and list of vehicles approaching end of operational life within Council service. 5.6 That the revised disposal policy be applied to minibuses only and that a trial period to test the new arrangement be put in place. It is proposed that the trial period should allow sufficient time to allow community groups to run minibuses to assess the reliability of vehicles and capture the wider impacts and outcomes of the initiative. It is proposed that feedback should be sought from community groups after 3 months and then again after 6 months from the date of transfer. 6. CONCLUSION 6.1 This is a well-intentioned initiative targeted at helping Community Groups. The demand for more forms of community transport has been increasing in recent years and these proposals have the potential to create increased public value; presenting PKC with an opportunity to work in partnership with communities to help develop more innovative local transport solutions and impact positively on transport poverty and social connectivity. Authors Name Designation Contact Details Fraser Crofts Strategic Lead – Environment & Infrastructure 01738 475000 EPLCommitteeReports@pkc.gov.uk Nigel Taylor Direct Services Manager – Economy, Place & Learning Pat Taggart Fleet Manager – Economy, Place & Learning Approved Name Designation Date Fraser Crofts Strategic Lead - Environment & Infrastructure 9 September 2024
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APPENDICES Appendix 1 – Policy for the Disposal of Minibuses Appendix 2 – Community Minibus Information and Criteria Appendix 3 – Community Minibus Application Appendix 4 – Community Minibus Scoring Matrix Appendix 5 – Minibuses due to reach end of operational Council service 24/25
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ANNEX 1. IMPLICATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION Strategic Implications Yes / None Corporate Plan Yes Resource Implications Financial Yes Workforce Yes Asset Management (land, property, IST) Yes Assessments Equality Impact Assessment No Strategic Environmental Assessment No Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) Yes Legal and Governance Yes Risk Yes Consultation Internal Yes External Yes Communication Communications Plan Yes 1. Strategic Implications Corporate Plan 1.1 This report supports the objectives within the new Corporate Plan: (i) Working in partnership with communities (ii) Tackling poverty (iii) Developing a resilient, stronger and greener local economy (iv) Tackling climate change and supporting sustainable places 2. Resource Implications Financial 2.1 The loss of auction sale income from this initiative was considered at F&R Committee on 12 June but it was agreed that this should be considered in the context of the wider community benefit from having access to transport at a local level with no upfront cost to community groups. It was considered at Committee that the potential level of reduction in income receipt is minimal in the context of the Council’s longer term vehicle replacement programme and the associated impact on loan charges would be contained in the Fleet revenue account. 2.2 Approval is sought for the use of up to £50k from the Anti Poverty Measures Fund in earmarked reserves to support any required repair work to minibuses for MOT purposes before transfer to community groups.
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2.3 Note that PKC will have no further involvement with or responsibility for any vehicle once it is transferred to a community group including future maintenance, repair or servicing costs. Workforce 2.4 There are no direct workforce implications arising from this report. Asset Management (land, property, IT) 2.5 There are direct vehicle asset management implications, as noted throughout the report. 3. Assessments Equality Impact Assessment 3.1 There are no Equality Impact Assessment issues arising other than the potential benefits to those community groups acquiring minibuses from PKC. Strategic Environmental Assessment 3.2 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals. There are none arising from this proposal. Sustainability 3.3 The proposals in this report support the Council’s policy objectives with regard to sustainability. Legal and Governance 3.4 Governance arrangements for the transfer of end of operational life minibuses within Council service to community groups are set out in the body of the report and Appendices. Risk 3.5 There is the potential for reputational risk if the vehicles prove not to reliable and/or do not deliver on the expected outcomes from transferring minibuses to community groups. As stated in para 5.2 of the report, it should be noted that all future ownership responsibilities including minibus repairs, maintenance and servicing costs etc are to be borne by the community group going forward with no recourse to the Council.
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4. Consultation Internal 4.1 The proposals in this report have been discussed with officers from the various relevant Council Services including Finance, Legal and Procurement. Members on the Strategic Investment Advisory Group have also had the opportunity to make comment on the proposals. External 4.2 There has been contact between some community groups and Council Officers and Members. This has established that there is interest in end of use minibuses by community groups. 5. Communication 5.1 This would take place with all parties once the report has been considered/approved.