Staff at a Bradford health trust who use their own cars for work have reacted with anger at plans to slash their mileage rates.

They say the move will affect front-line services if nurses, social workers and vital support staff are forced to abandon their vehicles and use public transport.

Managers at Bradford District Care Trust, which manages learning disability and mental health services, notified staff this week of a reduction in rates, which will begin to take effect in April.

They say the trust is taking the measure to reduce its carbon footprint by encouraging staff to buy more environmentally-friendly and fuel-efficient cars.

However, staff say it is a cost-cutting measure which will leave them out of pocket and unions have asked the trust to think again.

One Care Trust employee, who did not want to be named, said: “I’m sure people will appreciate our anger, that at a time when fuel prices are rocketing and some of us are having to go without a pay rise for the next two years, this drop in travel reimbursements will mean some staff will be losing out and will be funding their own travel while on trust business.”

Elaine McAvoy, Royal College of Nursing Assistant Officer for Bradford, said: “The cost of motoring and duty is continually increasing. Community nurses have been badly hit by higher prices at the petrol pumps, which comes on top of other cost-of-living increases and a pay freeze.”

Sandra Knight, director of human resources at Bradford District Care Trust, said: “The trust is committed to a reduction of its carbon emissions by encouraging staff who use their car for work purposes to purchase more environmentally-friendly fuel-efficient vehicles. This is in line with national directives.

“Our new approach reflects the typical annual cost for an average motorist which includes all running costs.”

The mileage rates facts and figures

A breakdown of the new mileage reimbursement rate for staff who use their own vehicles while on trust business reveals that:

  • The higher ‘band A’, which provided £760 per year in annual running costs and 44 pence per mile for the more powerful vehicles with an engine size over 1500cc, will be abolished from April 2011.
  • Vehicles formerly in the abolished ‘band A’ will be transferred into the mid ‘band B’.

    l The mid band “B” category, which provides £626 annual running costs and 36.9 pence per mile for mid-powered vehicles with an engine size of 1001cc to 1500cc, will itself be abolished in April 2013.

    At that point, all vehicles in this category will be transferred to the new Trust base band, with £508 in annual running costs and 29.7 pence per mile.

  • Read the full story in Monday’s T&A