Highland Council narrowly avoids public inquiry into vehicle licence
The extent of problems in Highland Council’s vehicle fleet have been laid bare after investigations revealed a series of “urgent” problems.
Scotland’s deputy traffic commissioner issued a “formal warning” to the council’s vehicle team after two occasions with loose wheels on the road and failing to correctly report vehicle defects.
It is the council’s second independent audit into its vehicle fleet in just over a year and could have led to a public inquiry into the council’s vehicle conduct.
Committee councillors congratulated officers and welcomed their report stating the council had avoided a public inquiry, which they said would have been a “disaster.”
However, other councillors have been less generous and called the auditor’s verdict and the near miss of an inquiry “anything but” a clean bill of health.
Why did the council receive multiple audits?
Back in 2021, the council suffered a “wheel loss incident” with one of their vehicles in Lochaber.
That was noted by officials, but in 2023 the council was told a vehicle was not road worthy after an MOT revealed it had loose wheel nuts, and another had suspension issues.
Despite the issues being “rectified immediately” the DVSA decided to conduct a “more thorough investigation” given the seriousness of the fault.
This resulted in an independent audit on the council’s fleet operations in May last year.
After the initial investigation, the deputy traffic commissioner for Scotland, Hugh Olson, then issued a “formal warning,” questioning the council’s operating procedure for vehicles.
A second independent audit was subsequently conducted in February of this year.
What did auditors reveal?
The latest independent audit was conducted by Logistics UK and was returned to the council on March 3.
Several “urgent” actions issued to the council included an overhaul of the council’s defect reporting process for vehicles.
These actions additionally included a review of the “control and compliance of drivers”, part of which involved the process of checking driver licences.
The audit also revealed that the council does not have a formal drugs and alcohol policy which includes random testing for drivers and vehicle staff.
Further actions for the council to take included multiple policy reviews and various continued checks on the council’s seven vehicle workshops.
Another independent audit must be completed by August 31, to judge improvements to the service.
Did the council take action?
Highland Council’s action plan for the concerns raised 40 “urgent” and “essential” actions for the council to make, which they split into 90 elements.
Currently, the red-amber-green scale is being used to track progress on these improvements.
The council’s lead on community operations and logistics, Debbie Sutton, said ongoing work has meant 21 are completed, 50 are in green, 19 in amber and no red actions remain.
The council is currently working on implementing a “no defect, no repair” policy as part of its improvements to vehicle services.
Further training on driver licences and compliance has been issued and a drugs and alcohol policy remains on target for the next report in September.
On a UK government vehicle operations scoring system, Highland Council is still rated overall as “low risk.”
Public inquiry would be “disaster” say council
Chair of the communities and place committee, Councillor Graham MacKenzie, said it was a “significantly serious issue for the council.”
He added: “It would not have been good to have been asked to attend a public inquiry in relation to this.”
He then thanked council officers for their work in avoiding further scrutiny.
Skye councillor Drew Millar said: “I welcome this report and congratulations to the staff who did all the work to avert what could have potentially been a bit of a disaster.”
‘Damning report anything but good news’
Speaking after the more positive comments in the chamber, Inverness councillor Duncan Macpherson said the council’s situation was “anything but” a clean bill of health.
Cllr Macpherson, who has run car dealerships across the Highlands and Moray and managed MOT testing facilities, was watching the meeting online.
He said: “Facing the prospect of having to appear up in front of the Traffic Commissioner, the council hurriedly took reparative action to correct their own faults and shortcomings on the way their fleet of vehicles was maintained.”
He compared the council’s actions to that of a private company, and said in this situation the business owner in the Highlands would likely have been “sanctioned and financially penalised.”
Cllr Macpherson added the “damning” report was “genuinely bad news” and said attempts to frame it as good news “beggar belief.”
The council will provide a further update on progress to improve the service in September.