West Yorkshire Community Transport Audit. Executive Summary. Produced for. Metro & Yorkshire Forward. by CTA UK

Transcription

1 West Yorkshire Community Transport Audit Executive Summary Produced for Metro & Yorkshire Forward by CTA UK September 2007

2 Chapter 1 Executive Summary 1.1 Introduction Metro, Yorkshire Forward and the West Yorkshire Community Transport Forum formed a partnership and engaged CTA to establish the level of CT activity in the region and to assess its contribution to the regional economy. The CTA recognise that many individuals and agencies have committed significant energy and enthusiasm to the development of CT in West Yorkshire and there is no doubt that this has a significant effect on the lives of many West Yorkshire residents. However, in order to consolidate the progress made to date and provide real opportunities for significant growth, there is a need to take a co-ordinated approach to future development. This report summarises the activities and outcomes of this project. 1.2 The Project The aim of the project was to audit community transport activity in West Yorkshire and assess its contribution to the sub-regional economy. Specific objectives were as follows: To comprehensively identify all not-for-profit passenger transport providers in West Yorkshire and to detail their current operations. To define the coverage of community transport services in West Yorkshire, indicating the areas which are served and those which are not. To understand the social and environmental contribution of the community transport sector in West Yorkshire. To focus on and define the current and potential economic contribution of community transport, in line with Regional Economic Strategy objectives. To identify the developmental needs of individual community transport groups and of the sector as a whole. To compare current community transport service provision in West Yorkshire with that in other parts of the country, notably London and the major conurbations. 1.3 Quantitative Survey

3 A quantitative survey of voluntary sector transport providers was carried out to assess the extent and capacity of community transport activity across the region. Whilst the 33 responses are not statistically significant, they provide a good indication of the current state of the sector. Key findings are summarised below: 75 per cent of organisations existed for the benefit of specific target groups within the community. Of these, elderly and disabled people were by far the most significant. Most organisations are managed by an elected voluntary committee. 26 per cent of respondents said users could influence their policy. Group transport services, dial-a-ride, voluntary car schemes and shopper services are the most commonly provided services. Most voluntary transport schemes operate under a section 19 permit and only a small minority have sought to acquire a PSV operator s licence. More than two-thirds of community transport users are women, which is comparable to the findings of similar survey work done elsewhere in the UK. The largest proportion of users lies in the elderly, community group and disabled categories. It may also be noted that relatively few people appear to use community transport as a means of accessing work or training opportunities and a disproportionately low number of people from BME communities use these services. The latter finding is not indicative of the wider composition of the population at whole. The vast majority of staff are older white male volunteers either drivers or other helpers, or members of a governing committee. Many organisations had staff training policies in place and had delivered a significant amount of training for both paid staff and volunteers. This is not surprising for voluntary organisations. Most of the organisations can be regarded as very small organisations, having an annual income of less than 100,000. The majority of income generated by community transport (58 per cent) contributes to the economy of the area in which it operates. All the organisations depend on grants and voluntary donations, with 25 per cent of the operators in our sample generating less than 50% of their income from trading activities. However, conversely, we also found that more than half our respondents

4 Some parts of the voluntary sector create an income stream through the management of their capital assets, particularly buildings. The organisations show little evidence of this, possibly due to the relatively recent emergence of the sector, but also as a result of low profitability, preventing the possibility of building a reserve base. Whatever the reasons, the low level of assets is not conducive to risk-taking or the pursuit of more aggressive enterprise-based approaches. The majority of organisations expect the volume of their transport activities to increase in the course of the next three years. They see the use of enterprise-based approaches as the way forward, with charging for services and providing services under contract being the most commonly cited growth areas. 1.4 Qualitative Research Eight specific community transport operators from across West Yorkshire were selected for further qualitative research from the full set of respondents. These were operators which had the greatest potential to expand their services. Key findings from the research were as follows: It is clear that many operators would value the shared experience, advice and bestpractice guidance that a Forum could bring. There is a need to explore how the WYCTF could operate effectively in this role. The short funding periods commonly obtained by community transport operators severely restrict their ability to plan ahead and develop their organisation and its services. Most operators reported difficulties when tendering for local authority and other statutory agency contracts. Many operators provide health-related transport with no funding provided by the health authorities. As health-related transport is a large part of community transport work, it would be beneficial if health authorities could develop a coordinated approach to the contracting of transport. This is another role for the WYCTF. All projects were able to provide good training and support for volunteers once they were recruited, but there were cases where services were becoming limited due to the lack of suitable drivers, paid and voluntary, being available. 1.5 Stakeholder Analysis

5 Research and an analysis were carried out on the local authorities and main agencies with responsibility for supporting community transport. Key findings from the research were as follows: There was a consensus from the local authorities that the sector needed robust skills development, particularly in financial planning, contract management and business planning. The local authorities were concerned about the nature of longer term funding programmes, with a lack of guidance being cited as a reason why this was not already in place. The capacity and organisation of the local community transport network has been questionable and more development and re-assurance is needed to satisfy Metro that the local operators are fit for purpose. Metro has been pro-active in engaging with the CT sector in West Yorkshire and has a willingness to further develop its working relationship with local operators. This is demonstrated in its facilitation and backing of a number of initiatives in recent years. The budgets available for unconventional services have been tight, and services have been commissioned on a strict value for money basis. Priority has therefore been given to operators who can meet the relevant and required standards of service. Yorkshire Forward is demonstrating its commitment to partner with community transport and other third sector organisations in delivering its objectives by encouraging project proposals and programmes in a number of themes. HCT Group has an interest in building up the capacity and infrastructure of the traditional CT network across the region, in particular where it is currently operating services and where the local infrastructure is weak. There is a commitment on its part to bring additional investment, from its own surpluses, to the local community. It recognises that a step change in the delivery of local CT services will only be achieved with the support of other public authorities and a significant injection of funding. The health sector has a statutory responsibility to provide ambulance services, including non-emergency Patient Transport Services (PTS). The framework for these services is currently under fundamental review. However, the principle currently applied is that PTS is only provided to those who have a medical need for transport and no other means of travel. A fundamental issue remains about the absence of longer term mainstream funding other than direct support from the local authority s passenger transport or social

6 services budgets. There was considerable concern as to future sustainability of community transport amongst most of those involved in the research. 1.6 Current and Potential Impact of CT There is considerable secondary evidence, and some primary evidence, of community transport contributing to LTP social inclusion outcomes and broader regional socio/economic targets. Stakeholders felt that quality-of-life related benefits from community transport were perhaps more important than some of the direct benefits, although they are more difficult to measure. The most significant impact that community transport is making to the Local Transport Plan is its contribution to reducing social exclusion in the West Yorkshire region. The most significant outcome targets that community transport operators can make to the Regional Economic Strategy are in relation to connecting people to employment and training; helping to build stronger communities; contributing to the social economy. There are local examples of how the operators are having a significant impact at a neighbourhood level. These include: User access in face of closure of local services Reduced social inequalities Benefits for those with reduced isolation Reduction in stress associated with difficult journeys Reduced cost of transport to services Reduced domiciliary provision Improved access to training opportunities Contribution to regeneration initiatives A number of barriers to development were identified that present the operators with difficulties. These include:

7 Funding and development Competition Recruitment of staff (including volunteers) Lack of desire for growth Cohesion and representation Planning and development Minimum standards Relationships with local authorities In assessing the potential social/economic contribution of community transport operators in West Yorkshire, a map of the CT s capacity/capability to participate in the wider public transport market against their desire/willingness to do so was developed. In order to get a clearer picture of the map the organisations where considered against two scales: 1) enterprise potential & 2) enterprise orientation 1.7 Benchmarking A number of benchmarks are defined against which the sector in West Yorkshire can measure progress and map its development. These are based on a strategic approach to community transport development at a regional level. The examples included in the report are from Manchester, Merseyside, Edinburgh, London and rural England. The report provides a series of baseline standards which have been developed by the CTA nationally and adopted by many regional community transport forums and local operators. In assessing the range of standards applied in some of the regions and forums, a number of key measures have emerged that can be used to assess the capability of an organisation to develop a robust business model in pursuit of its core objectives. These are detailed in the report. 1.8 Conclusions and recommendations for action

8 The main conclusion that arose from the research is the need for an overall strategy for CT in West Yorkshire. In order to be fully effective, implementation of the recommendations needs to be carried out in a co-ordinated manner with open discussion and partnership working between the stakeholders. It is important that this type of strategic approach is taken to the development of the CT network in West Yorkshire in order to build sustainability in the long term. A series of recommendations are made which flow from the findings, analysis and conclusions for the individual CT operators, the West Yorkshire Community Transport Forum and statutory agencies. Recommendations for individual CT operators are as follows: Operators should become active members of revitalised CT forum Operators need to expand their knowledge of the opportunities for participation in public service delivery that are being promoted across the region. Operators should increase their awareness of investment funding potential. Operators should introduce more organisational planning into their business. Operators should assess its position against a set of agreed operational standards. Recommendations for the West Yorkshire Community Transport Forum are as follows: There should be a structured but relatively simple approach taken by the forum and that this be linked to a programme of support for the CT network as a whole. In order for CT to grow and become more robust and sustainable in West Yorkshire, operators need to increase their strategic awareness and the forum is a key opportunity to do this. It is important that all forum members are equal partners and that development and direction are not biased towards any particular geographical or functional area. Recommendations for statutory agencies are as follows: To develop a common standard framework of support and engagement. To invest in the sector within an agreed structure and contract conditions.

9 To understand the principles of full cost recovery and compact compliance as it affects the sector. To develop a social enterprise hub for a number of operators with the appropriate potential and orientation. To encourage all local authorities and Metro to engage with relevant stakeholders to support the development of the Forum. For local authorities to engage with stakeholders and to fully develop and implement local strategies for community transport.