Fleet News uncovers council fuel rate over-payments

Exclusive research by Fleet News has revealed that county councils across Britain are wasting million of pounds a year by over-paying their staff mileage rates.

Details of the waste, revealed through an in-depth investigation and Freedom of Information requests to all the county councils in Britain, shows that some councils are paying their drivers nearly a third more than Government guidelines in mileage rates.

The payments are being made to council employees who use their own cars for work journeys – so-called ‘grey fleet’ drivers. The Government recommends that these drivers be reimbursed at a rate of 40 pence per mile under the AMAP scheme (Approved Mileage Allowance Payments), but some councils are paying their drivers up to 53ppm once lump sum payments are taken into consideration.

These lump sum payments are being made to cover maintenance costs on employees’ cars, even though the 40ppm AMAP rate is designed to cover the whole cost of the journey – fuel, insurance, vehicle wear and tear and depreciation.

Stephen Briers, editor of Fleet News, said: “At a time when companies across the country are trying to reduce their fleet costs, our investigation has uncovered needless waste in local authority fleet operations.

“The 40ppm AMAP rate is what the vast majority of companies use to reimburse their drivers, so there is no reason for council employees to be receiving extra payments.”

Among the worst county councils for over-paying mileage rates are Northamptonshire, Cumbria, Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire, Suffolk and Staffordshire, who all pay 53ppm once the lump sum payment is taken into account.

However, some county councils are paying less, with Gloucestershire and West Sussex paying under the AMAP rates. Hertfordshire, Kent, Essex, Herefordshire and Cambridgeshire all reimburse at 40ppm.

The full story and analysis is contained in the latest issue of Fleet News, out this week.

For more information, visit fleetnews.co.uk.