Shropshire Star

Cash rewards for council staff cycling at work

Pedal-power should be rewarded by a cash payment for every mile cycled, councils insisted today.

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Council workers are enjoying up to 45p a mile in their pocket when they use their bike.

That payment is made by Shropshire Council – and now Powys County Council has set up a new system in which a 20p-per-mile allowance is paid.

Telford & Wrekin Council does not operate a mileage system, but it does offer staff the chance to buy a new bike to ride to work through salary sacrifice.

Councils say they are doing their bit for the environment as well as reducing congestion on the roads.

But today the Taxpayers Alliance described the policy as "ridiculous" and said money paid to cyclists should be diverted to essential services instead.

All three authorities have created improved cycle parking facilities at council buildings and many now have cycle storage, personal lockers and showers for staff use.

Councillor John Powell, Powys County Council's portfolio holder for highways and environmental health, said 138 workers are being paid to cycle in the new scheme. He added: "A cycling allowance of 20p per mile has been introduced to encourage short and efficient business journeys to be made by bike and provide a saving on travel costs."

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Councillor Claire Wild, Shropshire Council Cabinet member for transport, said: "We are committed to encouraging staff to reduce how often they use their cars, and using bikes to either get to work or attend meetings is a good way of doing that. We operate a cycle to work scheme, which enables staff who cycle on business to claim the same mileage allowance as those using a car."

Councillor Liz Clare, Telford & Wrekin Council's cabinet member for Leisure Services & Culture said its scheme to encourage staff to buy a bike was an extension of its work to promote cycling.

But lobby group the TaxPayers' Alliance today questioned the money being spent on promoting cycling when cuts are being made in other areas.

Alex Wild, Alliance Policy Analyst at TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Shropshire Council have serious questions to answer over these extravagant mileage allowances. Revenue and Customs' approved rate for bicycles is 20p, yet they are dishing out more than double that. Residents expect their council tax to be spent on essential services such as rubbish collection and street cleaning, not councillors' green agendas."

But Sustrans, the sustainable transport charity, welcomed the efforts of both Shropshire and Powys councils, saying it would help the environment and make staff healthier.

Yvonne Gilligan, West Midlands Director at Sustrans, said: "With our towns and cities getting increasingly clogged up with traffic, cycling to work is a great alternative to sitting in the car.

"Incentives are a good way to encourage staff to change their journey to work and it is also likely to benefit the employer, as cyclists tend to take off less sick days than other colleagues.

"However, these types of incentives need to go hand-in-hand with improvements to infrastructure, such as making junctions safer and reducing speeds.

"Combined, incentives and safer streets are likely to see even more people cycle which has benefits to us all."

Councils further afield in the Midlands also pay varying amounts of mileage to staff for business journeys.

Walsall Council said it pays the equivalent to the lowest rate of casual car user allowance which is currently set at 46.9p per mile.

A statement said: "To the best of our knowledge, this is by far the highest cycle mileage rate across the West Midlands.

"Walsall Council is also signed-up to the Government promoted 'cycle to work' scheme." Meanwhile Cheshire West and Chester Council offers the same business mileage rate for cyclists and motorists at 40p per mile for councillors.

A spokesman said: "Such a policy removed the perverse incentives that can lead to staff using their cars when a bike might be the most suitable means of making a journey.

"Offering derisory business mileage expenses rates for cyclists often leads to derisory rates of cycling for business purposes."

Meanwhile, the government also runs its own Cycle to Work scheme which aims to promote healthier journeys to work and to reduce pollution.

It introduced an annual tax exemption which allows employers to loan cycles and cyclists' safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit.

The exemption was one of a series of measures introduced under the government's green transport plan.

Sustrans said it backs the scheme but wants to introduce a national cycle-to-work standard for all workplaces, to give everyone the choice of a "smarter, healthier, cheaper commute".

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