Archived decisions

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

1. Summary

1.1 Wheels to Work schemes are currently funded by Hampshire County Council in two districts - Test Valley and New Forest. These services have recently been reviewed and following this a funding proposal for developing a county-wide scheme has been developed. This report requests that approval be given to implement a county-wide scheme if a funding application to the Reaching Communities National Lottery Fund is successful. The proposal will improve the well-being of those young people who benefit from the scheme.

2. Current Situation

2.1 The existing schemes are available to young people aged 16-25 who are unable to access employment or vocational training opportunities due to a lack of transport.

2.2 Through the scheme young people may loan a moped for between 3-12 months depending on their individual circumstances. Following the successful completion of Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) users are provided with a helmet, gloves, high visibility jackets, tax, insurance and breakdown cover. The young person then takes responsibility for ensuring that the vehicle is fuelled and maintained in a reasonable condition. The scheme covers the costs of regular servicing.

2.3 The schemes are currently aimed at young people most in need and users of the scheme have to be referred through agencies such as Children's Services (Care Leavers), Youth Offending Team, Job Centre Plus, Connexions and the Youth Service.

2.4 There is some evidence that the existing schemes are currently under-resourced and that this is restricting their potential take-up, partly due to insufficient time being allocated to promoting and advertising the scheme. In view of this a review of the schemes has been undertaken.

3. Review of Existing Schemes

3.1 A comprehensive review of the two existing schemes was carried out during 2005. This looked at the scope for extending Wheels to Work in Hampshire and the right organisational structure to enable this to happen. It also included a benchmarking exercise which compared Hampshire's provision against similar schemes elsewhere whilst collecting anecdotal evidence from local stakeholders.

3.2 The review came up with a number of recommendations, including:

(i) making changes to the way in which the current schemes operate to provide enhanced safety provision and easier access to the scheme for users; and

(ii) rolling the scheme out across the remainder of the county, in order to achieve equity of access for young people.

3.3 One key recommendation suggested the formation of one county-wide scheme and not a network of individual schemes, so that economies of scale could be achieved. Following the review the details for a county-wide scheme were developed in partnership with a number of local stakeholders.

4. County-wide Scheme Details

4.1 The county-wide scheme would be targeted towards the rural areas of Hampshire where there is arguably the greatest need. It would be managed by Community First New Forest which would employ two coordinators to develop the project.

4.2 The scheme would be rolled out across the county over a period of three years, with 35 mopeds being available for hire in year one, 50 mopeds in year two and 80 mopeds in year three.

4.3 Although Community First New Forest would manage the day-to-day operation of the scheme, Hampshire County Council's Environment Department would be the lead organisation. The two groups would work together to ensure the outcomes of the scheme were achieved.

4.4 The following organisations have indicated their support for the scheme: Children's Services (Care Leaders), Youth Offending Team, Job Centre Plus, Connexions, Youth Service, Hampshire Constabulary and the majority of Council of Voluntary Services throughout the county.

4.5 A county-wide steering group headed by the County Council (Environment Department) will oversee the scheme with representatives from the majority of the organisations mentioned in paragraph 4.4 being invited to participate. They have indicated their willingness to do so should the bid be successful.

5. Funding

5.1 The cost of implementing and running a county-wide scheme for a four year period is estimated at £633,526 of which some £170,920 will be covered through hire charges to users and the existing contributions made by local authorities. In order to meet the funding deadline an application has already been made to the Reaching Communities National Lottery Fund for the balance of £462,606 over the four year period.

5.2 By year five the annual running costs of the scheme are estimated at £205,171. Taking into account the current local authority contributions and the estimated income from hirers, a shortfall of some £152,731 is likely by the end of the four year lottery funding. During the four year funding period the following exit strategy would be applied to the scheme:

(i) As the scheme is rolled out incrementally around the county then every effort would be made at the outset to attract funding and sponsorship from those agencies and interested parties which could benefit from the scheme, thus seeking to spread the funding liability of this scheme in the longer term. The precedent for this has already been set by New Forest District Council contributing to the existing arrangements. Other one-off contributions have also been made by other interested parties in the past.

(ii) Should it become apparent during the last year of the lottery funding that there was going to be a shortfall in revenue, then there could be managed reduction or withdrawal from the scheme. This is feasible in view of the fact that most moped hires are for a six month period.

6. Conclusion

6.1 The proposal for a Wheels to Work scheme provides an opportunity to extend the existing provision in Hampshire without any additional financial commitment from the County Council over the life of the lottery bid. It would also enable accessibility to be improved for some young people in rural areas and this is in keeping with the Local Transport Plan aspirations and priorities placed on young people in the Local Area Agreement. Whilst there may be concerns about the longer term financial position, an exit strategy has been proposed to manage this.

6.2 An application has been made to the Reaching Communities National Lottery Fund to implement this scheme and retrospective support for this action is sought. Approval is also sought to implement the proposed scheme if the funding application is successful.

7. Impact Assessments

7.1 It is considered that the actions outlined above should not have any detrimental impact on equalities or race discrimination. The proposed scheme seeks to provide journey opportunities for young people who would not otherwise be able to access employment and training opportunities.

Recommendations

1. That the application made to the Reaching Communities National Lottery Fund for a county-wide Wheels to Work scheme be endorsed.

2. That, if the application is successful, approval be given to accept the grant and implement the county-wide Wheels to Work scheme.

1123Rpt/KI