Archived decisions

Contact: Kevin Ings, ext 6986 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 The following decision is sought:

That approval be given to a grant of £3,500 from the Community Transport budget towards the purchase of a replacement mini-bus for the Southern Test Valley Voluntary Transport Scheme.

2. Reason

2.1 This decision supports Aims 1 (Maximising life opportunities) and 5 (Improving services) of the Corporate Strategy by maintaining the operation of the Romsey dial-a-ride service.

3. Other Options Considered and Rejected

3.1 Taking no action.

4. Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Decision Maker or a Member or Officer consulted - None.

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee - Not applicable.

6. Reason(s) for the Matter being dealt with if Urgent - Not applicable.

Approved by: Date:

Councillor J K Glen

7. Southern Test Valley Voluntary Transport Scheme

7.1 The Southern Test Valley Voluntary Transport Scheme is a small local voluntary organisation which operates the Romsey Dial-A-Ride service. The service is one of a small number of dial-a-ride services in Hampshire organised and provided solely by volunteers. The dial-a-ride service is jointly funded by the County Council and Test Valley Borough Council at a total cost of £8,756 in this financial year.

7.2 The scheme provides a door-to-door service in Romsey town and the majority of parishes in the southern part of Test Valley for people who meet the dial-a-ride criteria. The service operates on four days a week and is provided using a fully wheelchair accessible mini-bus. The service provides over 3,000 passenger trips each year.

7.3 The Southern Test Valley Voluntary Transport Scheme has requested a one-off additional grant from the County Council and Test Valley Borough Council to help with the cost of replacing the vehicle currently used to provide the service. By the time this vehicle is replaced it will be seven years old, which is comparable with the reasonable working life of vehicles used for community transport and dial-a-ride schemes in Hampshire.

7.4 Historically the County Council contributes towards the purchase of new vehicles for the dial-a-ride service. The annual grant made available by the councils includes an allowance for vehicle replacement. However, the allowance has not kept pace with rising vehicle replacement costs and consequently there are insufficient funds available at the present time to replace the vehicle.

7.5 The Scheme estimates that the cost of purchasing a new vehicle will be approximately £47,000. The Scheme currently has £36,000 in reserve and, when this is added to the estimated residual value of £4,000 for the existing vehicle, a sum of £7,000 is still needed to replace the existing vehicle.

7.6 It is proposed, therefore, that the County Council through the Community Transport budget should provide an additional grant of £3,500 to enable the replacement of this vehicle. Test Valley Borough Council has already agreed a matching contribution for this amount.

8593/KI