Scores of Birmingham council vehicles 'might not be roadsafe, taxed or insured' in shock update

Gobsmacked Birmingham councillors have voiced their incredulity after officials admitted that scores of its vehicles might not be roadsafe, taxed or insured. The disclosures came during discussions about creating a new integrated transport unit at the city council to save money.

Councillors of all parties were left 'in shock' over admissions about the current state of affairs around record keeping and monitoring of fleet vehicles, with the council unsure what vehicles it owns and how safe or legal they are. Cllr Richard Parkin (Cons, Sutton Reddicap) described it as 'astonishing' and 'jaw dropping'.

Council transport expert Chris Douglas, supporting the work to create the new centralised unit, said the fragmented way different departments across the council were able to buy, lease and hire vehicles posed a significant challenge. There was no database kept that provided a full list of vehicles, their ownership status, and whether they were taxed, insured, inspected and maintained.

READ MORE: Thousands of homeless, hopeless kids need us - why Brumwish is back this winter

That meant that the council could not say with 'confidence or reliability' that the vehicles used in its general work, including housing, pest control, adult social care and other services, were legally compliant, road safe or accounted for. After asking directly if the council could confirm all its motors were on the road legally, councillors were told: 'This might not be the answer you want, but no."

The council's fleet of waste and street cleaning vehicles, including bin lorries, and the cars and minibuses used to transport children and young people, were separately controlled and were not implicated, he added.

Addressing the council's sustainability and transport scrutiny committee (Thursday Nov 7), Mr Douglas said it was thought the council had 'at least' 1,750 vehicles in general use but the exact number was uncertain. Cllr Rob Pocock, Labour cabinet member overseeing the council's transformation agenda, said the uncertainty was a 'perfect example' of the challenges facing the council, which is currently in special measures and overseen by commissioners.

"Across the council there are different insurance and taxing arrangements, different ways of dealing with maintenance. It is highly fragmented...inefficient and a very poor way a council this size should be running its fleet."

A 'vehicle amnesty' day was now taking place next Monday (18th) when all council staff in all directorates were to provide details of every vehicle used by or accessible to them or their team, to help create a new master database. "That should give us a live snapshot, and a much more informed and accurate baseline," said Mr Douglas.

"The fragmentation of existing fleet management within the council leaves us with two big challenges. We need to ensure those vehicles we operate are legally compliant and protect our staff from occupational road risks and protect other road users and the public. It also presents a very big data challenge - it is very difficult to get accurate fleet data across different teams, services and directorates. We have an asset register and access to road tax data, both of which I would question the accuracy of."

He said the data suggested the council owned 700 general use vehicles, leased 100 and hired another 700, which seemed 'highly unusual'. The council was also currently unable to monitor fleet emissions accurately to help meet the challenges around decarbonisation because of the lack of data, he added.

Cllr David Barker (Lab, Brandwood and Kings Heath) said he was 'very concerned'. He asked: "How have we not had an exact knowledge of all our vehicles until now? What possible circumstances existed that this council did not know how many vehicles we have? I am genuinely really confused."

Cllr Pocock added: "This situation picks up what is fundamentally wrong with how this council has been run for a very long time, beyond this current administration, going back over 10-20 years. This council has run its affairs by federal arrangements, not a centrally controlled one.

"We have allowed to be created semi autonomous directorates, with very powerful directors and division heads delegated the power to make decisions, to buy, lease or hire a vehicle, without central control. We need to bring to this council a much stronger corporate centre.

"This is but one example, you could apply the same to hiring of staff, or agency workers, exactly the same problem. We are now engaged in bringing about a reintegration of this council across the piece. This one example is indicative of a systemic problem in how this council has been managing its affairs.

"There needs to be a balance of course, you can't run everything from the centre, and there needs to be a degree of delegated authority parcelled up, but this is indicative of how semi autonomous directors have been enabled to make these decisions without accountability back to the centre.

Cllr Lee Marsham (Lab, Nechells), who chairs the committee, asked if it could be said that every vehicle now on the road was tax compliant and insured. Mr Douglas told him: "This might not be the answer you want, but no, not based on the information we hold at present. Following the amnesty day and the analysis of that data we will be in a position to say that they are all taxed, MOT'd, insured, maintained, inspected and repaired accordingly."

Brumwish 2024 - buy a gift for a child in need

BrumWish 2024 is Birmingham Live's festive drive to get thousands of gifts to children and young people across our city - among them the homeless, the vulnerable, kids in care, kids who are poorly or struggling, and kids who have little.

There are THREE simple ways to help.

1. Buy a new gift from the Brumwish 2024 Amazon giftlist. In just a click your donation will be whizzing its way to our volunteers at Edgbaston Stadium.
2. Donate money to the appeal fund hosted by Thrive Together Birmingham - this will help pay for gifts for kids with specialist needs or specific wishes.
3. Buy a gift and, even better, rope in friends, neighbours and workmates to do the same, then drop off your pressies at Edgbaston Stadium, Edgbaston Road, B5 7QU on Friday 6th December, 10am - 3pm; Saturday 7th December, 10am - 1pm; or Monday 9th December, 10am - 1pm. Volunteers will be there to help you. Please don't wrap your gifts. You can also drop off by arrangement until Monday 16th December - contact Louise on 07469 979286.

Thanks to our partnership with #Toys4Birmingham, every single gift will find a good home in the loving care of a child living in B&Bs or hotels, hostels or refuges, children receiving support from specialist organisations and charities, and families being supported by children's centres and charities around the city.

Making up the Brumwish and Toys4Birmingham gang are Thrive Together Birmingham, Birmingham Playcare Network, Warwickshire Cricket Foundation (the charitable arm of Warwickshire County Cricket Club), Birmingham Forward Steps and BirminghamLive/Birmingham Mail.

Thank you to Amazon UK and the amazing team at the Sutton Coldfield depot for their support.

Cllr Richard Parkin (Cons, Sutton Reddicap), who used to run a car management operation, told the committee that 'listening to these statistics and the lack of oversight is astonishing...we are all a bit gobsmacked. We need to address this, it has clearly been fragmented for such a long time, I am just amazed. We seem to lift up stones and discover something new each time."

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Parkin added: "This really is jaw dropping stuff...just when you’ve think you’ve heard it all, along comes this latest bombshell. It is quite frankly shocking to hear that this Labour administration has long since lost control over the management of its own fleet of 1,700 vehicles.

"This raises so many questions. How many vehicles are being incorrectly registered and depreciated as assets on the council’s accounts? Are all of these vehicles being checked and maintained to ensure they are roadworthy, taxed and insured? Is the council paying exorbitant costs in short term day rates for hire vehicles? The truth is no one knows the answers to any of these basic questions. This issue encapsulates how badly Labour are continuing to run the council, and the complete lack of control and management oversight."