Dear all,
Please find below information from Bev Hemming of Community Connexions regarding a Community Transport Consultation that is due to be undertaken by the Dept. of Transport. To find out more and feed in your stories please get in touch with Bev using the contact information below. (N.B. This email is being sent to approx. 180 Stroud and Cotswold VCS contacts and will/has been sent to Cheltenham VCS contacts by Angela Gilbert)
Community Transport(CT) is under threat due to a change in the interpretation of the law by the Department of Transport, following a ruling by the European Courts, services throughout Derbyshire and Leicestershire have already been lost.
There will be a DfT consultation this Autumn so it is important to get impact stories across to DfT, as frankly they do not understand the value of CT or even what we do. This change may impact on some local groups who own and operate minibuses, including parish councils, other voluntary groups and churches.
Passenger transport is quite rightly a highly regulated industry but minibus and minibus driver regulation, and the permits under which we operate (Section 19 & 22), are currently under additional scrutiny, with many grey areas open to different interpretations. CT’s have always operated within the law and it is important to stress that the law has not changed, just the interpretation of it.
This is not just about Community Connexions, or CT provision/providers in Gloucestershire, it is a country wide issue - so whilst we believe that raising awareness of this issue is important we do not wish to cause any of our passengers, stakeholders or their support networks concern about withdrawal of our services, we are better placed than most to transition if necessary and currently it is ‘business as usual’, but I would urge anyone who understands and appreciates the positive difference keeping people independent in their own homes makes - and the negative social impact, should this option be withdrawn across the country, to find out more or to send us your community transport service users/group impact stories so that we can pass them on.
If anyone would like to discuss this further, would like links to relevant websites, or are concerned how this might impact on their own groups’ minibus use they are free to contact me Bev Hemming 01242 244635 Thank you
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Bev Hemming
Business Development Manager, Community Connexions
Our values – Respectful, Helpful, Honest and act with Integrity
Community Connexions operating Community Transport across Gloucestershire.
Helen RichardsCommunity Advisor (Stroud and South Cotswold) WILD Project Officer