Response to the Two Consultations – Introduction of Car Park Charges and the Removal of the £1000 Mileage Allowance

This article has been brought to you by Slough Borough Council's Corporate Management Team, for the attention of Headteachers in Slough, to share with all members of staff.

Introduction of Car Parking Charges

A big thank you to everyone who responded to the consultation on car park charges proposals for staff using the new HQ at 25 Windsor Road – whether directly, through the employee engagement forum or face to face.

All the comments, questions and suggestions have been looked at and considered by the HQ Travel sub-group and the proposals discussed and amended.

Last week Wednesday 27 June, CMT approved the amended proposals.

General

Subsidised parking will be provided at Hatfield Car Park as proposed originally, with blue badge parking provided on site at 25 Windsor Road.

As currently with the underground car park at SMP, anyone with a medical or mobility condition but who does not have a blue badge and cannot make the walk should speak to their line managers and building management to make specific arrangements.

The council’s electric fleet, pool bikes and e-bikes will be available from the car park at 25 Windsor Road.

You said, we did

As per the original proposal, charges will apply for all staff, however the price bandings and caps have been changed, following the consultation.

They will now be:

Pay Levels 1 to 6, part-timers (20 hours or less), members

  • £1 per day
  • Capped at a maximum of £3 in any one week

Pay Levels 7 to 10

  • £2 per day
  • Capped at a maximum of £6 in any one week

SML grades

  • £3 per day

CMT

  • £5 per day (normal commercial rate)

Payment will be on the day or via a pre-payment account – in a similar way to how Oyster cards work.

“We spoke to hundreds of staff about the original proposals and, thanks to all the feedback we received, the proposals have been amended and were agreed by CMT.

“Thank you to everyone who took the time to have their say.  We know the amendments we have made to the original proposals will not satisfy everyone or deal with everyone’s comments and concerns; we simply cannot offer all parking for free in the nearest car park, for example, without putting the council under financial pressure, but with the new bandings, and caps we know this is a more fair approach for all.”

 

- Josie Wragg, chief executive

Removal of Mileage Allowance

As well as consulting on parking at the new HQ, we also consulted on proposals for removing the £1,000 allowance for doing more than 1,000 business miles in your own car.

Thank you to everyone again for sharing your views and personal experiences of this allowance.

Thanks to your feedback, the proposal has been amended – and again the amended proposals were agreed by CMT.

From now until 31 March 2020 the amount staff get when they reach more than 1,000 business miles will remain at £1,000 on top of the standard mileage rates.

From 1 April 2020 until 31 March 2021, the amount staff get when they reach more than 1,000 business miles will be £500 on top of the standard mileage rates.

From 1 April 2021, staff reaching more than 1,000 business miles will get the standard mileage rate.

Next steps

A formal letter from HR is attached to this email alongside the formal responses to the consultations. These are important so please read them thoroughly.

The response documents contain answers to many of the questions raised during the consultation including the pricing bands, loading and unloading facilities at 25WR and concerns on safety of staff when walking.

With best wishes

Corporate management team (CMT)
 

cid:image001.jpg@01D50507.1AE28360 cid:image002.jpg@01D50507.1AE28360  cid:image003.jpg@01D50507.1AE28360  cid:image004.jpg@01D50507.1AE28360  cid:image005.jpg@01D50507.1AE28360

Josie Wragg | Chief Executive

Alan Sinclair | Director of Adults and Communities

Neil Wilcox | Director of Finance and Resources

Cate Duffy | Director of Children, Learning and Skills

Joe Carter | Director of Regeneration