The chancellor George Osborne will take to his feet at 12:30
today to present the findings of the autumn spending review.
He will detail the scale of the cuts facing the public
sector.
These cuts are predicted to lead to almost 500,000 public sector
employees losing their jobs.
They will also undoubtedly lead to a reduction in public sector
fleet budgets.
Alliance Asset Management says the public sector must completely
review the way it funds staff travel.
The spending review coupled with the findings of the Green
Report on Government efficiency and its procurement of goods and
services will mark a new age of austerity.
But, says Alliance Asset Management Managing Director
Vincent St Claire the new age does not simply mean searching out
the cheapest deal or cutting staff mileage reimbursement
rates.
"A complete change in culture and behaviour is required across
the board in relation to public sector travel. Collectively
billions of pounds of taxpayers' money is spent on fleet vehicles
and staff travel across the segment but, it seems, often with
little accountability or real-world knowledge of costs," he
said.
"We are prepared to undertake a level of free consultancy on
behalf of individual public sector organisations to assist them in
identifying ways in which they can develop cost-effective, value
for money policies and procedures."
In his report to Sir Philip Green singled out car hire as one of
the clearest examples of poor practice.
The report found that centrally the Government spent £29 million
a year on vehicle hire but that there was no standard policy for
vehicle rental.
A benchmark on a sample of vehicle hire across four Whitehall
departments found that daily rates of rental for a category D
vehicle (Ford Mondeo1.6 or equivalent) varied between £27 and £119,
a difference of 77%.
In highlighting the Government's travel budget as a second
example, the report said: "We were initially advised that the
annual travel spend for central Government was £2 billion; the
second estimate was £500m; the third estimate was £768m. A thorough
review revealed that the actual spend was £551m."
In advocating centralised buying and a leveraging of buying
power, Green said: "We have examined central Government, but the
whole public sector should be able to take advantage of better
procurement by the centre."
Meanwhile, the Office of Government Commerce, an independent
office of HM Treasury, has called on public sector organisations to
review 'grey' fleet use - staff driving their own cars on business
trips and claiming mileage.
With a wide disparity in mileage rates paid by local
authorities, concerns over whether employee-owned vehicles meet
at-work driving health and safety standards and the age of those
vehicles prompting concerns that they are not as
environmentally-friendly as newer vehicles, the OGC highlights car
hire, vehicle leasing and use of public transport as cheaper, safer
and more environmentally-friendly alternatives.
St Claire said: "Mileage rates can be an incentive for staff
using their own cars on business to clock up mileage so improved
journey management controls need to be introduced. Making use of
modern, environmentally-friendly pool cars, daily rental or company
cars may be more cost-effective than paying mileage rates.
"Using our expertise we will analyse an organisation's current
operating policies, procedures and costs and make a series of
recommendations that will deliver financial savings without
compromising on operational efficiency.
"The financial savings generated can then be used to help fund
frontline public sector services to the benefit of the community at
large.
"Additionally, our recommendations will help public sector
organisations compile policies and procedures that will reduce
their exposure to 'grey' fleet at-work driving risk and cut their
carbon footprint.
"As the public sector gets to grips with identifying cost
savings, transport policies should highlight the requirements for
employees to use the most economic and efficient method of travel,
taking into account cost, environmental impact and timing factors.
Planning safer, more efficient and economic journeys may also mean
restricting 'grey' fleet use."