Suffolk cuts subsidy to community car schemes

Suffolk County Council have informed local Community Transport Operators that the 2014-15 Budgets & Service Level Agreements have now been finalised.

"A review of mileage between 2010-11 and 2013-14 has highlighted that hospital appointments are not within the service specification of supported Community Car Services. The majority of these journeys are high mileage, moving services away from local service provision.  Therefore from 1^st April 2014 the mileage subsidy will no longer be supported. Subject to operator’s volunteer availability, passengers may continue to access car services for hospital appointment journeys at 45p per mile.  The council will continue to support the operator’s admin support for each passenger journey covered. In line with these changes, the 2014-15 car service budgets have been adjusted in relation to the current year end hospital appointment mileage forecast..."

What this means is that for hospital journeys, the county council will no longer pay the 10 pence per mile subsidy, thus that will have to be collected from the passenger or borne by the non-profit operator of community car schemes. County have confirmed that "car service operators will not be subject to a reduction in budget as such, as it is the passenger who will be supporting the drivers mileage rate." SCC have not announced what this will save them per year.

Many CCS work using volunteers drivers in their own cars and they reimburse the volunteer at 45 pence per mile. The passenger is charged 35 pence per mile and the 10 pence of council subsidy makes up the difference. The schemes also get 40 pence per journey taken to cover  the administration of claiming back mileage. 

So now CCS might have to offer passengers two different charging scales: 35 pence for local journeys which are subsidized and 45 pence for hospital journeys which aren't.

Figures from the AA and RAC show that the real cost of car ownership per mile can be over 50 pence per mile. Many volunteers don't mind shouldering this cost, in the same way they don't mind travelling to volunteer somewhere, but on taking long journeys to hospitals, that can be significant.

This action will certainly reduce the number of options that patients have to get to hospital appointments and increase the difficulties many have of attending them, especially when changes to commissioning of services have moved them to ever more distant hospitals, such as the proposal to close the liver resection department in Norwich and move it to Addenbrookes. In that case it may be a small number of cancer patients but it could be a death sentence to some of them.

According to the Department for Transport; 21.1 % of people in rural Suffolk live more than 60 minutes by public transport from hospital compared to 9.9% of rural England overall. Source: OCSI 2011 Department for Transport (DfT) 2009.

There are 35 LSOAs (each averages a population of 5000 people) in Suffolk more than two hours travel time from a hospital by public transport.

Between 2009 - 2012 there were 184,947 missed NHS appointments in Suffolk, costing£17.6 million. There is no hard data on the reasons why people miss appointments but local anecdotal evidence shows that poor transport, particularly in rural areas, is one reason. The West Suffolk Hospital says the cost of each 'DNA' to them varies according to whether it is a first or follow up appointment and for which speciality but the estimated loss is about £110 per appointment.

I feel the voluntary and community sector is not being served by the arbitrary fixed rate the HMRC sets for mileage reimbursement they will accept without question of employees making profit, which is also applied to volunteers using their cars in community car schemes.

Since 45p per mile (for the first 10,000 miles) is now below the RAC /AA rate of car operation, as fuel and insurance costs rise, volunteers using their own cars in CCS will continue to subsidise these schemes, leading to increasing difficulty in recruiting volunteer drivers into schemes or forcing schemes to be capitalised in a way they provide their own vehicles. This is a huge barrier to establishing schemes and has many attendant costs beyond the vehicle. For a start it is quite a complicated five-step calculation for volunteers to work out if they might be making a profit or not. 

I have brought this up with Dan Poulter MP but I did not get a satisfactory response as he didn’t see the difference between employee use and volunteer use and the legislation is framed around the taxable benefit of using a car for work. The Chartered Institute of Taxation had suggested in 2011 that 50 pence was fairer when the rate of 40p then "was below the cost of running a car".  After a comprehensive consultation in 2008, the Community Transport Association concluded that low tax-free mileage allowances combined with rising fuel prices was deterring potential voluntary drivers. It asked the Government to increase the tax-free rate to 45p per mile which was realised in the 2011 budget.

Raising the allowable rate again to 50p or 55p per mile for volunteers using their own cars will have no impact on the costs of SCC and community transport schemes yet the schemes might be able to operate and charge lower rates or offer sliding scale on longer journeys but fixing it at 45p per mile does not allow any flexibility because it is for many volunteers and schemes less that their true cost, especially for short journeys.

Town Council Funding Guidance

Town or parish councils can provide small amounts of grant funding for local community organisations however they also have a duty to ensure their council is not spending the precept on something which could be funded or part-funded by another means. Whenever possible, all applicants, especially for larger grants or to fund ongoing services, would be well advised to present evidence of research into other sources of funding and the outcome of any other applications with their application to their local council.

I would also suggest that grant applicants should contact local enterprise or community development agencies to access the free advice available on making grant applications and if the activity needing funding is likely to require ongoing funding from the public purse; to consider how that activity can be delivered on a sustainable basis.

To prevent any delay in obtaining a decision, it's a good idea to check with the clerk when your application will be considered by the council and if possible, be available to attend if any questions arise at the council meeting.

It is worth noting that nearly all funders want to know about the impact that their funding has had. It is good practice to describe in the grant application how the outcomes of the funding will be monitored and reported on afterwards. A follow-up report to the council is always appreciated.

The good news is there are potentially thousands of sources for grant funding in Suffolk but the bad news is keeping track of the constantly changing landscape is near impossible for a town or parish council. Many small local funds are best accessed through local community development agencies. The availability of such support services often varies too but these are the resources I could find in Halesworth at present.

Funding

County councillors have a Locality Budget Grant for local projects in their division which benefit the community such as village halls, sports and social clubs and toddler groups.

If you would like to apply for a locality budget grant, please contact the county councillor who represents the area where your project is based.

Hundreds of big and small charitable grants are administered through the Suffolk Community Foundation. For up to date information please visit:

www.suffolkcf.org.uk Telephone 01473 602602

Grants for Waveney, Holton and Halesworth from the Bernard Matthews Fund are administered by the Norfolk Foundation.  Grants are normally made in May and November each year.

www.norfolkfoundation.com Telephone 01603 623958 (Wednesday-Friday)

Halesworth is fortunate to have a Co-operative store and so can apply for cash grants from the Anglia Cooperative Community Foundation as well as for raffle prizes from the store.

www.arcs.co.uk/main_accfapplyraffle.asp

The Halesworth and Blyth Valley Partnership is an independent charity (number 1099489) that exists to promote, support and encourage any charitable purposes for the protection of health and improvement of the social, cultural, economic, educational and environmental well-being of Halesworth and the Blyth Valley area. 

Contact: Mr. Ezra Leverett, Telephone 01986 874551

The organisation Lions Clubs International has a Halesworth branch which makes donations to good causes.  Contact Lions Clubs International District 105EA thorough their website:

www.halesworthlions.org.uk

Green Grants Machine is a website for identifying environmental funding.

www.greengrantsmachine.co.uk

Suffolk Libraries provide online and library terminal access to Grant Finder where a short registration form gives users immediate, free and unrestricted access to a comprehensive national database of funding opportunities.

www.open4community.info/suffolklibraries/Default.aspx

Application Support

The voluntary and community sector support agency Community Action Suffolk is funded by Suffolk County Council to support applicants to access funding from the National Lottery, charitable trusts, local, national and European government under a wide variety of schemes.

Community Action Suffolk can access Grant Finder to conduct funding searches and provide advice and signposting for applicants.

www.communityactionsuffolk.org.uk

Telephone 01473 345300

Provided by the United Kingdom Government, businesses and community groups can find a wide range of grant funding and support information at:

www.gov.uk/business-finance-support-finder

Funding Central is a free resource for charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises that lists thousands of funding and finance opportunities, plus a wealth of tools and information to support developing a sustainable income strategy.

www.fundingcentral.org.uk

Waveney District Council has a Community Development Team to support community and voluntary groups to develop and seek funding which will help deliver the Sustainable Communities Strategy. There are a number of specialist officers for different groups and objectives. The Funding Manager of the WDC Funding Team has access to Grant Finder and can conduct funding searches.

Email: volgrants@waveney.gov.uk

Telephone 01502 523182 / 01502 523186

Suffolk County Council also receives funding from Central and European government to make grants for community purposes such as economic, sport, leisure, cultural and educational development often in partnership with other agencies. The priorities and availability and pathways to such funding are constantly changing. There are a number of specialist officers and many council staff can support community development in their local area through the council’s Our Place scheme. Ideally your first contact for support from the County Council will be your elected member.

Email ourplace@suffolk.gov.uk

Buses in Crisis Report

The Campaign for Better Transport has published a report on the effect of cuts on bus subsidy.

http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/files/Buses_In_Crisis_Report_AW_PDF_09.12.13.pdf

It finds that 47 per cent of local authorities have cut their support for buses in 2013. 

"Next year could be even worse, with some authorities planning to stop funding buses altogether. Local and national government needs to take action or whole networks will disappear."

Between 2011 and 2013, the East of England cut the most with a 19 per cent cut in spending, followed by the North East and East Midlands.

You can track bus cuts on their interactive map http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/campaigns/save-our-buses/map and report to them any cuts in your area.

Macmillan uncovers hospital parking lottery

Macmillan research has revealed the full cost of hospital parking in England. While some hospitals offer free parking to cancer patients, others charge up to £3 an hour for parking.

To find out how you can challenge costs in your area, order a campaign pack.

Macmillan Cancer Support surveyed hospital trusts in England to find out about their parking policies - and found huge variations, patients face a lottery in the price of hospital parking and the availability of discounts.

Despite government guidance stating that hospitals should offer free or reduced parking to cancer patients, many still face the burden of these costs. Macmillan is campaigning for all hospitals to remove car parking charges for cancer patients.

Read their report on car parking charges to find out more. Download the report 

• The average daily cost of using a hospital car park is £7.66, but the situation is a lottery. Some hospitals offer completely free parking, while others charge anything from £2 to £24 a day
• Despite government guidance, 59% of hospitals in England are still charging at least some cancer patients to use the car park
• Almost 10% of hospitals in England have ignored government guidance completely and continue to charge cancer patients the full price for parking.

Community transport groups are struggling to cope

From the EDP October 22, 2013

Two north Suffolk community transport groups have called for action from the NHS as they struggle to cope with the rising demand of passengers needing to attend hospital appointments. 

The Beccles and Bungay Area Community Transport (BACT) and the Halesworth Volunteer Centre were set up to provide transport to people who do not have easy access to other forms of public transport to allow them to go shopping, visit relatives or attend important appointments with health professionals. 

However, both groups say they have faced an increase in demands for hospital transport since the NHS in Suffolk and Norfolk introduced the single point of assessment in 2011, putting an end to the days when patients were given free access to hospital transport to their appointments by asking their GPs. As a result, hundreds of people with no access to other forms of transport are turning to community transport operators to find a way of attending their appointments. 

Debbie Blowers, BACT manager, said: “The demand for hospital transport is out of control. It is putting a huge strain on resources, which is simply not sustainable. The ramifications are that our budgets will run short and those who need transport for essential tasks such as shopping, paying bills, attending appointments or even to take part in social activities will get pushed down the priority list in favour of those needing to get to hospital. 

“Our volunteer drivers are becoming fed-up as they are spending so much time at hospitals which is not what they signed up to do and it certainly isn’t only what community transport services were set up to do, but is increasingly now our main activity with no extra funding to do it. 

“The NHS is taking advantage of the good nature of community transport schemes throughout Norfolk and Suffolk who do not like to let anyone down. However, the passenger requests for hospital work are putting a strain on the schemes, their employees and their wonderful volunteers and we are at the stage of not knowing where else to turn to.” 

BACT figures show that the number of people using the service to go to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has risen from about 100 per month to 180 since the beginning of the year, while journeys to the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston have risen from 80 per month to nearly 200. And figures from Halesworth Volunteer Centre show journeys have risen from 465 between April and September 2012, to 709 between April and September this year. 

Suffolk Community Transport, an umbrella group set up to support the county’s individual community transport operators, has been involved in talks with the NHS and further discussions are planned later this month. 

Andy Evans, chief executive of HealthEast, said: “NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group, locally known as HealthEast, is responsible for planning and commissioning patient transport services. 

“This is for patients who need clinical support during their journeys, and who are unable to travel by other means. The service is provided locally by the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust since April 1 this year. It’s delivered in line with national eligibility criteria set by the Department of Health. Patients who do not meet the criteria may be eligible for financial help with the cost of their journey. 

“We know that concerns have been growing among community transport groups about increasing pressure on their services, and we are arranging a meeting, together with representatives from EEAST, to discuss how we can work together.”

This report is reinforced by the data from the Southwold Voluntary Help Centre. Between April - August of 2012 they 345 trips to hospitals and in the same frame in 2013 they have made 465 trips. 

If 200 new homes for Framlingham, please ask where are the buses?

On Tuesday 19^th November Taylor Wimpey East Anglia is hosting a public exhibition to give local people the chance to view and comment upon emerging planning proposals for a new residential development on land to the east of Fairfield Road, Framlingham.

According to the OSM NaPTAN bus stop database, there are no bus stops along Fairfield Road. We hope local people will ask, what contribution to local transport infrastructure will this development bring?

Prior to this consultation event being opened to the general public, there will be a private preview exhibition which for members of Framlingham Town Council, Suffolk Coastal District Council, Suffolk County Council, plus local businesses and community groups.

.

This private viewing session will take place at Framlingham United Free Church in Albert Place, Framlingham, on Tuesday 19^th November between 2pm and 3pm, and will be attended by Taylor Wimpey representatives and other members of the project team. Taylor Wimpey happy to talk in detail about our proposals and answer any questions you may have.

They are proposing to submit a detailed planning application for up to 200 new homes on this site, which has been identified as being suitable for a residential development of this scale in Suffolk Coastal District Council’s Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (2010).

By coming along to the stakeholder preview consultation and providing them with your feedback on the proposals, you can help to influence the details of the final scheme before they submit a planning application later in the year.

Please confirm your attendance by emailing framlinghamconsultation@webbpr.net. If you are unable to come along to the special preview session, you are of course welcome to attend the main public exhibition between 3pm and 8pm.

Woodbridge Community Car Scheme needs your help

An innovative car scheme which provides transport for disadvantaged residents in and around a Suffolk town has suffered a blow after its new co-ordinator has been forced to step down due to ill health.

The devastating news means the Woodbridge Community Car Scheme – which helps residents who do not have access to other forms of transport to attended vital appointments, go shopping and visit friends and family – urgently needs to find a replacement co-ordinator to keep the service up and running.

It was only a few weeks ago the car scheme was celebrating being back in operation after recruiting the new coordinator whose predecessor had retired after holding the post for several years.

Scheme secretary Robert Brockbank said: “This is a very sad situation and our first thoughts are with Michael who had shown tremendous community spirit by agreeing to be our new coordinator, but has had no choice but to step down due to health issues. “We really are now in a very tricky situation as we simply cannot run the service without a coordinator to oversee its day to day running, so once again we are calling on a community minded individual to come forward to help us keep this valuable service running.

“The transport we provide really is a lifeline to many people such as the elderly, those with disabilities and others who cannot find access to other means of transport. Without us many local people would struggle to carry out simple tasks such as go shopping, pay bills or attend medical appointments, so anyone who has the time and ability to step in to this role would be making a huge difference to the community.”

The new coordinator would handle all calls to the service, arrange and confirm journeys, keep driver’s records up to date, attend occasional meetings on behalf of the organisation and keep quarterly accounts. The role can be home based, and expenses are paid.

Anyone who would like to learn more about becoming  the coordinator for the Woodbridge Community Car Scheme should contact Robert Brockbank on 01394 383641 or by post to St John’s Family Centre Woodbridge Ltd, St John’s Old Vicarage, 24 St John’s Hill, Woodbridge, IP12 1HS.

The service is run entirely by volunteer drivers who use their own cars on a non-profit making basis. Passengers contribute on a mileage basis towards the cost of a journey.

Media needing more information should contact Patrick Lowman on 07792 428555 or by email patrick_lowman@sky.com

Woodbridge Community Car Service is part of St John’s Family Centre Woodbridge Ltd which is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales No. 03720558, and a registered charity No. 1075415. St John’s Old Vicarage, 24 St John’s Hill, Woodbridge, IP12 1HS.