Archived decisions

Community First, New Forest

A Council of Voluntary Services Supporting the Voluntary and Community Sector

Department Chief Officer

Contact Number 01425 482773

Email [email protected]

Date 26 Jul 07

Cllr. Peter Hutcheson

Chairman

Environment and Transportation Policy Review Committee

Hampshire County Council

The Castle

Winchester

SO23 8UJ

Dear Cllr. Hutcheson

Hampshire County Council - Scrutiny of Transport in the Community

As a provider of Community Transport services and infrastructure support body to local voluntary and community groups Community First, New Forest is pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to the scrutiny review of community transport. As a local provider we see ourselves as an organisation that is able to meet local needs locally.

The review questionnaire rightly highlights the critical role that community transport has towards quality of life issues that work towards meeting the needs of communities across the county.

1. Assessing and Meeting Community Needs

At present there are a variety of methods that collectively can be interpreted as assessing community needs and supporting the planning process in meeting future needs. Examples include:

    · New Forest Transport Community Action Network (CAN) - a strategic and delivery group that supports the delivery of the New Forest Community Strategy

    · Participatory Needs Assessments that work towards meeting local needs in defined areas of need under the indices of deprivation

    · Review activity with our key funders (HCC and NFDC). The process of quarterly reviews enables delivery to be considered in relation to the best use of resources and future needs. This allows for a flexible approach in the use of resources. This also reflects how partnership working strengthens local delivery.

    · Ongoing contact with passengers and local voluntary and community organisations. This highlights how community transport providers, in their frontline delivery role, are well placed to pick up on emerging needs and to feed these into relevant planning groups.

    · As a specialist provider we receive numerous enquiries that also highlight potential gaps. For example, Neighbourcare transport activity gaps. We have supported the development of 2 such groups in the New Forest District in the last 18 months in partnership with the Hampshire Voluntary Care Groups Advisory Service.

An area for development is the need for a more clearly defined, joined-up and structured approach to gap analysis and meeting emerging and future needs that is not a `top down' approach. At present there is a wide range of planning and gap activity across the county where linkages are not totally clear. This may apply across Hampshire County Council departments, across district and boroughs and the activities of other public sector partners. In short, there is no clear single mechanism for strategic planning that enables community transport to have the links at locality level bridged to county planning for all partners.

2. Partnership working

This is an area of healthy activity where groups and forums do exist and have developed good working relationships. Examples at the local and county levels include:

    · Review meetings of Community First New Forest, HCC and NFDC

    · New Forest Transport Forum

    · New Forest Transport CAN

    · Hampshire Community Transport Operators Group

    · New Forest Older Persons Forum

    · New Forest Special Interest Group (Physical Disability)

It could be argued that, as above, there is no clear single mechanism for locality and county groups to feed into.

3. Effective use of Community Transport

A critical point in the concept of effectiveness is the need to meet local needs locally and that there needs to be a balanced approach that incorporates diversity and equality. At the time of this scrutiny review the County Council have set out a consultation on proposals to put the bulk of current community transport out to competitive tender with effect from 2008. The consultation sets out that the aims of this proposal are:

Delivery of high quality, value for money services

Improving accessibility

Maximising the use of available funds

Recognising the added value that the voluntary and community sector can provide when delivering services

On all these points there are distinct concerns that every single aim is subject to critical challenge.

Delivery of high quality, value for money services/ Improving accessibility/ Maximising the use of

available funds

There is existing evidence in Hampshire that where transport is provided under competitive tendering that commercial tenders have recently increased by 25%. The impact here is that with no additional funding to cover this that commercial transport services have been cut and continue to be cut. The Community Transport consultation document makes clear that if tenders are above the funding available that services would be reduced. This would not be value for money, not maximise the use of available funds and would actually decrease accessibility

Recognising the added value that the voluntary and community sector (VCS) can provide when

delivering services

There is a recognition that the partnership arrangements that currently exist do recognise the value of the VCS. A key area of added-value is the potential for non-cashable efficiency savings that the VCS can secure through levering other funding into Hampshire. A recent example of such an activity was a joint bid by HCC, Community First New Forest and Test Valley CVS to the Big Lottery to secure funds to extend the Wheels 2 Work (Moped Loan Scheme for young people). Despite the bid not being successful it was evidence of how the sector can potentially secure other funds. Transport schemes have secured funding that is not statutory, for example, in the New Forest we have secured support from Help the Aged.

In summary the key points are that the current direction of travel towards competitive tendering has the

potential to:

    · Reduce value for money and lessen the ability to meet the needs of vulnerable people

    across Hampshire

    · Disrupt the current infrastructure of community transport delivery - current providers have clearly demonstrated the capacity to innovate, be flexible, add value and lever in external funding

    · Reduce choice and access to a wide range of passengers and voluntary and community groups

    · Severely limit innovation and new developments

As a provider of community transport Community First New Forest is passionate about how this area of delivery makes a fundamental difference to quality of life. We would be keen to attend the Scrutiny Review to discuss these items further and to contribute to the development of a more effective, efficient and equitable approach.

Yours sincerely

Michael Clowes

Chief Officer