6.1 Links to Police National Legal Database/Other 6.2 Implementation Strategy (Policy Impact Assessment)

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1 V NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED Policy Title CCMT Sponsor Department/Area Section/Sector Travel and Vehicle Use Director of Finance Corporate Finance Transport CONTENTS: 1.0 Rationale 2.0 Intention 3.0 General Principles 4.0 Guidance, Procedures & Tactics 5.0 Challenges & Representations 6.0 Communication 6.1 Links to Police National Legal Database/Other 6.2 Implementation Strategy (Policy Impact Assessment) 7.0 Compliance and Certification 7.1 Human Rights Audit 7.2 Equality Impact Assessment 7.3 Management of Police Information (MoPI) 7.4 Data Protection 7.5 Freedom of Information Act 7.6 Protective Markings 7.7 Health & Safety at Work 8.0 Monitoring and Review V NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

2 1.0 Rationale To provide guidance to all members of the police family, including specials, on business travel including travel in all TVP vehicles (marked, unmarked and pool vehicles); non-tvp vehicles including hire vehicles, private vehicles and sponsorship vehicles; air travel; rail travel and travel on public transport. 2.0 Intention The intention of this policy document is to provide all officers and police staff with clear guidance in relation to business travel. The intention is to ensure the most economic use of travel resources whilst ensuring the following are fully met: * Minimise the VAT and income tax liability on the force and the individual. * Maximise availability of TVP vehicles for operational deployment * Minimise impact on the environment wherever possible. 3.0 General Principles 3.1 Use of Police and Crime Commissioner owned, leased, loaned or hired vehicles Any unauthorised use of the above vehicles is strictly prohibited and will be treated as a disciplinary offence. Private use of the above vehicles including taking vehicles home and leaving vehicles at home overnight is prohibited unless a hard copy exemption is held. (see 3.2) Unauthorised or private use includes the regular commute to and from the normal place of work. Therefore, the above vehicles should not be taken home unless approved by a member of the Chief Constable s Management Team and for which a corporate record must be kept. Vehicles should not be left at private premises during periods of annual leave or during rest days for any reasons. 3.2 Exemptions The following exemptions to the above represent those that are corporately approved and do not need CCMTs approval, but to qualify for the exemption the vehicle and post must be registered with Force Transport Officer On-Call Where an officer or member of police staff is on-call, i.e. is part of an on-call register and/or, is in receipt of a paid stand-by allowance; or on the agreed list held by the Force Transport Officer. NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED 2

3 3.2.2 Surveillance/Covert Vehicles/Security Where a vehicle is registered by the Force Transport Officer as being a surveillance or covert vehicle and is specially equipped for that purpose (e.g. additional covert lights, siren etc.) then that vehicle may be taken home if it is essential for security reasons Driving School Vehicles Driving school vehicles may be taken home where the instructor is training away from the normal place of work the next day Dog Vans Vans modified for the carriage of police dogs may be kept at home but only whilst the dog is in the care of the officer Part of an Operational/Business Journey (Register to be kept locally) Where a vehicle is being used for an operational or a business journey and the length of the working day and/or direction of travel dictates the return journey to the place of work may be delayed until the next day, providing the next day is a duty day. Alternatively, the vehicle may be taken home for an onward journey the next morning Staff Drivers Staff drivers may, with the approval of the Chief Constable s Management Team, take staff cars home over night. There is an HMRC VAT and Revenue exemption which allows the driver of such vehicles to park at a home address overnight General Every force is required by National Counter Terrorist Security Office (NaCTSO) to ensure that the security of police fleet vehicles is risk assessed and suitable control measures are in place to ensure the security of such vehicles at all times. If approval is given to take a fleet vehicle home, the relevant LPA/Department management team must carry out a risk assessment of the location and security of the vehicle and keys to ensure suitable control measures are in place to ensure the security of the vehicle and any contents at all times. (a hard copy of the risk assessment must be forwarded to transport HQ for retention on the vehicle file) Where it is more convenient to do so, a vehicle can and should, be left at the closest police station to the home address of the driver. NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED 3

4 The vehicle log book must be adequately completed for all journeys to record the reason for the journey. All users of vehicles being driven on the Force insurance must ensure they are aware of, and comply with, the following corporate policies: * Driver Policy * Driver Risk Management Policy In the event that an officer or member of police staff has a TVP owned, leased, loaned or hired vehicle at their home and is taken ill, arrangements should be made without delay to have the vehicle collected and returned to the nearest station. 3.3 Use of own vehicles Officers and members of police staff who are designated essential or casual users must ensure they comply with the appropriate rules and regulations set out below Essential Users Essential User status relates directly to the post, not the individual. If an Officer moves from a post attracting essential user status to a new post, his essential user status will automatically cease unless the new post also holds essential user status. It applies only to Police officers and those Police support staff on PSC pay arrangements. In order for a Police Officer to qualify and maintain essential user status, the post must have an established annual mileage requirement of a minimum of 5,000 miles and the post holder must not have regular access to any Force vehicles. Any officers that fail to meet the above criteria in full will be treated as casual users unless they, or their post, have been individually approved as essential users due to designated special circumstances. The LPA Commander or Dept Head has the discretion to exempt individual posts from the 5000 mile criteria, where there is sufficient justification to do so. They will provide a case to Corporate Finance for exemption from the minimum mileage criteria which will include consideration of the following:- Whether there is sufficient access to alternative suitable Thames Valley Police owned or operated vehicles at the geographic location the officer is posted to or works from, to allow the officer to execute his/her duties. Provide the number and utilisation rate of existing vehicles at the specified location. NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED 4

5 Whether the officer is on-call and has a responsibility for a wide geographic area with the likelihood of frequent call outs. Provide details of how often they are called out. What is the flexibility around the timings of their journeys, who controls the timings? Whether an alternative method of transportation is available to the officer, based on specific location and circumstances e.g. Public transport. Consideration should be given to the actual amount of mileage being performed in the execution of the officer s duties. Justification for an exemption needs to be stronger as annual mileage drops. In cases where annual mileage is lower due to extended absences (long term sick, maternity etc) discretion should be used based on a pro rata calculation of the mileage that would have been completed had the officer not been absent. For Part time officers the criteria remain as stated. A list of such posts will be maintained by the Head of Corporate Finance. Designated essential users shall undertake to make a vehicle available at all times for the performance of their official duties, except for when the vehicle is unavailable for use due to routine servicing. If the vehicle is unavailable for extended periods due to accident, repair or overhaul, the officer is responsible for providing a replacement vehicle for the period, not TVP. When the motor vehicle is not in use as a result of absence of the employee/post holder through illness or extended absence from work (excluding normal annual leave), the appropriate lump sum payment is payable for the remainder of the period in which the absence started and for a further three periods thereafter. When an employee/post holder takes normal annual leave the lump sum payment will continue to be paid. Payments for periods when an employee/post holder takes unpaid leave will depend on the circumstances and require the approval of the LPA/Departmental Commander/Manager. A record of the decision should be retained giving the reasons for the decision Casual Users Anyone who is not eligible for Essential User status will be automatically designated as a Casual User. There is no obligation on a Casual User to use their own vehicle for business purposes All Users NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED 5

6 Anyone using a privately owned car for business purposes must ensure the following conditions are met: * The vehicle must have fully comprehensive insurance with appropriate cover for business use. The insurance must fully indemnify the Police Authority from any third party claims that may arise from its use for business purposes. Members of the Special Constabulary and other Volunteers should ensure they have adequate insurance for their vehicle when they travel to and from their home station and when travelling to other locations in connection with their activities as a Special Constable or Police Volunteer. For the avoidance of doubt, each person should specifically declare to their insurance provider that they are a member of the Special Constabulary or are a Volunteer for the Police and receive written confirmation that they are adequately covered for this purpose. * The driver must have a full current driving license. All staff are required to notify the Driver Risk Unit of any traffic summons and endorsable fixed penalties received. This should be done via to Driver Risk Unit mailbox. * The vehicle must have a valid MOT test certificate and excise licence and be in a roadworthy condition at all times. * The vehicle must be serviced and maintained, in line with the manufacturer s recommendations. When drivers submit their expenses claim they tacitly declare that their driving licence, fully comprehensive insurance (for business use), excise licence and MOT (if appropriate) are current and in order, their vehicle is roadworthy and their eyesight meets the requirements of the Road Traffic Act. Whenever practical, all personnel travelling to a particular location on the same date are expected to travel together. Sharing vehicles not only minimises costs for the Force, but also helps reduce its carbon footprint. If a hire vehicle has been arranged, all members of staff will be expected to use that vehicle. If they wish to use their own vehicle they may do so, but at their own expense Submitting Mileage and Expense Claims Mileage and expense claims are submitted by all users via the on-line selfservice expenses system which can be accessed via SSAMI. Those users who do not have access to the computer network or are submitting claims more than three months in arrears should submit a paper claim using a Fin 151. Current payment rates are shown here NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED 6

7 Claimants are required to submit receipts for fuel and other travel expenses on a monthly basis to accompany the claims made. These should be placed in a sealed envelope, marked with the claimants name, shoulder no, month/year the receipts relate to and receipts, The envelope should be sent to the Administration Office for the LPA/Dept as appropriate for storage and subsequent auditing by Corporate Finance. Travelling expenses may be claimed while attending interviews as candidates within the Force area. No expenses will be reimbursed in respect of external interviews Calculating Mileage Claims Claims for casual or essential mileage must take account of the claimant s normal commute mileage as detailed below. Where your journey starts and ends at your home address you may only claim expenses for the excess mileage i.e. the mileage over and above your normal commute. For journeys from your home address to a location other than your normal place of work, you may only claim for miles over and above the distance you would normally travel to get to work. Similarly for homeward journeys where you are travelling back to your home address from a location other than your normal place of work, you can only claim for miles above and beyond your normal homeward journey. The mileage you can claim for journeys that start and end at your usual place of work is not reduced. If you travel from home to your normal place of work and then make an additional journey from your normal place of work to another site and back to your normal place of work, you can claim expenses for this additional journey. Your normal commute should be as per your car s trip counter or the shortest route along roads designated by, for example, AA, RAC route master or Google Maps. Officers who have been organisationally posted have a cap of 20 miles per journey on deductions from their claim Maximum Mileage Claim All users have a duty to travel by the most cost-effective method, which for car journeys will normally be a fleet vehicle or pool car, if available, whilst still maintaining compliance with the Driver Policy. When this is not available, for relatively short journeys and those at very short notice (less than 2 hours or outside normal office hours), using your own vehicle is likely to be the cheapest option for the Force, although consideration should also be given to public transport. However for longer journeys, it progressively becomes more NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED 7

8 cost-effective for the user to hire a vehicle, rather than use their own vehicle and claim mileage, and this applies to both essential and casual users. Following the Winsor Review, mileage rates payable for casual and essential users are now significantly different, and this impacts on the point at which a hire car becomes more cost-effective than claiming mileage. Based on the new payment rates and other parameters, if the expected mileage which would otherwise be claimed during the day (ie after deducting any allowance for home to base station mileage) exceeds 60 miles for casual users or 75miles for essential users, then officers and staff should consider hiring a vehicle, rather than use their own car, if a fleet or pool car is not available. Most journeys are planned at least 24hrs in advance, which normally provides sufficient time for a hire car to be arranged. 3.4 Public Transportation The following section sets out the high level principles for the use of public transport by all officers and police staff: Air Travel All air travel will be standard economy class unless prior written approval is obtained by a member of the Chief Constable s Management Team. A journey by air should be essential, and demonstrate value for money in terms of substantial savings in time and overtime which would counter balance any additional costs incurred. Due to current concern over Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) the exceptions to using economy class for air travel would be for employees with a relevant medical condition, supported by confirmation from the Force Medical Officer. All long haul air travel and complex itineraries should be booked through the Force s approved contractor EXPOTEL tel or thamesvalley@expotel.com. However, to ensure value for money is achieved the use of TVP purchase cards for low cost airline internet booking for simple flights is allowable to avoid the Expotel booking charge. This needs to be arranged through the Receipts, Procure and Payment section, via a requisition raised by the relevant LPA or Departmental Admin section. Requisition guidance for booking flights is available here Out of hours guidance for urgent flights is available at Travel Booking Out Of Hours Rail Travel All rail travel will be standard class unless prior written approval is obtained by a member of the Chief Constable s Management Team for up-graded travel. In line with Police Regulations the ranks of Superintendent and Chief NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED 8

9 Superintendent can approve their own first class rail travel, but only if it is deemed to be necessary. As the Force has to report on first class rail travel undertaken, ALL first class tickets must be booked using the Evolvi system, administered by Receipts, Procure and Pay Dept. No claims for reimbursement will be accepted if alternative methods have been used. In some areas of Thames Valley arrangements are in place for concessionary standard class travel by rail. If there is any uncertainty then check with Receipts, Procure and Payment section prior to booking. Additional savings can be made by booking early, so advantage should be taken of these discounted fares wherever possible. Thames Valley Police Officers & PCSO s, on production of their warrant card, are entitled to free travel on London buses, London Underground, Tramlink, Docklands Light railway & London Overground* services. Police officers are entitled to free travel whether in uniform or in plain clothes and whether on or off duty. There are no free travel arrangements for police staff employed in non-uniform roles. Rail tickets are obtained by completing the TVP Rail Ticket Request Form which requires approval by the line manager, and then ing the request to the Receipts, Procure and Pay Department who will book the tickets using the Force s internal ticket machine. The ticket will then be sent to the stated police station or home address, as per the request form, or can be collected from Fountain Court reception during normal office hours. For urgent out of office hours rail travel, warrant books are held at Custody sites but if this is not suitable, officers and police staff will be reimbursed via the self service portal, if supported by a valid receipt. Where several people are travelling together to the same destination, consideration should be given to using a hire car which is likely to be cheaper Taxis The use of taxis is normally not the most economic or environmentally friendly option for business travel. Taxis should only be used in exceptional circumstances e.g. when public transport has been used to complete the bulk of the journey and the distance to travel to the final destination is too far to walk and there are no other suitable means of public transport. Where the business journey may be late at night and/or in or around an unsafe area, taxi expenses with an original receipt will be refunded. For business journeys outside the capital or where use of the London Underground is not viable to reach a destination and a taxi has to be taken, all reasonable expenses will be reimbursed on production of the original receipt, NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED 9

10 and a VAT receipt if possible. However, an original hand written receipt with the taxi company name, date, total amount paid and journey would meet the minimum requirements Hire Cars Hire vehicles should generally be considered for ad-hoc vehicle requirements when fleet vehicles are not available or suitable. It is important that hire vehicles are not used for front line service delivery or outside of the Road Traffic Regulations as they have not been risk assessed or equipped for the role. The hire company is responsible for service and maintenance standards. All users should check the Driver Policy to ensure they comply with the requirements before submitting a request. Hire requests must be submitted using the SSAMI request form found under Information & Links Group M1 or M2 vehicles (3 or 5 door hatchback) will be hired on all occasions, unless a valid reason for a larger vehicle can be evidenced. All hire vehicles will be delivered and collected from Police premises. No deliveries will be made to a home address. Hire vehicles must only be used for the journey authorised, no private use is allowed. (Example: must not be used for home to work journeys) This is to comply with VAT fuel benefit rules, invoice VAT treatment and to avoid any benefit in kind tax on the individual users. Whenever practical, all personnel travelling to a particular location on the same date are expected to travel together. If a hire vehicle has been arranged, all members of staff will be expected to use that vehicle. If they wish to use their own vehicle they may do so, but at their own expense. All hire vehicles should be checked locally on delivery and collection, preferably in the presence of the hire company but certainly before it is used if this is not possible, with any damage recorded on the delivery/collection note. All hire vehicles should be delivered and returned with a full tank of fuel. If the fuel tank is not full at the commencement of your journey, please note the fuel level on the delivery note and re-fuel to approximately the same level. Instances where vehicles are not re-fuelled by users will be reported to the LPA Commander or Dept Head, since this involves the Force in additional costs. Fuel cards and log books for hire vehicles should preferably be obtained from your local admin department, but they may also be obtained from the SDO at the station where the vehicle is being delivered to, if more appropriate. Log books must be completed on all occasions, before they are returned with relevant receipts. NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED 10

11 3.5 Bus Travel Concessionary Bus travel is available in selected areas of the Force for both officers and staff. Details of current arrangements are available here 3.6 Hotels Hotels are booked via the relevant Admin team who will raise the requisition. Receipts, Procure and Pay will make the arrangements with Expotel. Link to current guidelines regarding the allowable cost of rooms and meals 4.0 Guidance, Procedures & Tactics 4.1 Driver Responsibility Drivers of all vehicles are reminded of their responsibilities under road traffic legislation, including an individual responsibility to ensure that the vehicle they are driving is in a legal and safe condition before using it on a public road. Drivers must, before using any vehicle for business purposes on a public road, carry out road-worthiness and serviceability checks (including POWDERS check) as specified in the Driver Policy - (The only exception to the above being to attend an immediate commitment in a suitable force vehicle before the checks can be carried out in this case the checks must be done at the first available opportunity.) Any defects or damage found must be reported immediately to a supervisor if the vehicle is a fleet, hired, loaned or sponsored vehicle. If the vehicle is privately owned it should not be used for business purposes until necessary action has been taken to ensure the vehicle is fit for use by the officer or member of staff. 4.2 Management Responsibility All vehicles and associated equipment provided by TVP are classified as work equipment under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Reg.s 1998 (PUWER). This applies to private vehicles whilst being used by officers or employees on essential or casual user allowances. Employers are required to ensure: * Work equipment is maintained in efficient working order and in a good state of repair at all times. * If the vehicle or equipment is exposed to conditions causing deterioration liable to result in dangerous situations, it shall be subject to periodic inspection to enable detection and remedy of any defect or deterioration NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED 11

12 4.2.2 The LPA Commander/Dept Manager at each location where vehicles are based will ensure that effective local procedures are in place for monthly inspection and condition checks of all vehicles and emergency equipment. These procedures will include the recording and reporting of any defects, damage and missing equipment found during inspection of all fleet, hired, loaned and sponsored vehicles Audit Checks Corporate Finance will undertake random dip checks on a monthly basis to ensure fuel and travel receipts are being provided and mileage claims are in accordance with the policy. All mileage claims in excess of the maximum daily level will be investigated with the individual concerned and appropriate action taken as required. 5.0 Challenges & Representations 5.1 Any person directly affected by this policy may make presentations in relation to its contents and/or any decision in consequence of it to: - Director of Finance Headquarters North Meadow House Kidlington Oxfordshire OX5 2YS 5.2 Any person directly affected by this policy may make presentations directly to the policy owners or through the appropriate staff associations representatives. 6.0 Communication 6.1 Links to Police National Legal Database & Other Policies This policy should be read in conjunction with the following documents: * Driver Policy * Driver Risk Management Policy * Management of Vehicles & Emergency Equipment Policy * Corporate Finance (Payroll, Expenses, Travel & Subsistence) guidelines * Procurement Air, Rail & Hotel Contract guidelines * Hire Vehicle Booking Form 6.2 Implementation Strategy A communication strategy will be managed by Corporate Finance. Target audience will include all TVP Officers, Employees and Drivers, and interested partner agencies. NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED 12

13 This policy will be published on the Policy Management Unit intranet and will be advertised in Manager s Briefing and Weekly Orders. 7.0 Compliance and Certification 7.1 Human Rights Certification (i) Legal Basis This legal basis for this policy is derived from: * HMRC Regulations * Management of Health & safety at Work Act & Regulations * Road Traffic Legislation * Chief Constable & Police and Crime Commissioner Financial Rules & Regulations The Chief Officers have corporate responsibilities and obligations for all users of business travel, in respect of the provision of travel generally use of all vehicles and those engaged in driving them. Individuals as drivers have duties and responsibilities under the general road traffic law. (ii) Human Rights Articles Engaged This Policy has been drafted and audited in accordance with the Human Rights Act It is acknowledged that this Policy has the potential to engage the following Articles of the Act: Article 2 Right to Life Article 2 (Right to life) states that... Everyone s right to life shall be protected by law The Article imposes two duties on the state, the second of which is to take reasonable measures to protect life. The duty to take reasonable measures to protect life includes a duty to put in place effective criminal law provisions to deter the commission of offences against the person backed up by lawenforcement machinery for the prevention, suppression and sanctioning of breaches of such provisions. It may also include a positive obligation on the authorities to take preventative operational measures to protect an individual whose life is at risk from the criminal acts of another individual. This policy acknowledges the risks associated with all business travel to our officers and staff and introduces measures to ensure high standards are maintained and allows the organisation to ensure that it provides the most appropriate method of travel. (iii) Prohibition of Discrimination By engaging any of the aforementioned Articles, there is the potential to engage Article 14 of the European Convention. Article 14 states that the enjoyment of the Rights and Freedoms set forth in the European Convention NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED 13

14 of Human Rights shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status. Actions taken as a consequence of this policy will be applied fairly and impartially, having due regard for natural justice and human rights. 7.2 Equality Impact Assessment An Equality Impact Assessment has been carried out for the Policy and is published alongside the Policy. 7.3 Management of Police Information (MoPI) Compliance Information deemed for a policing purpose, or any data about an individual that is circulated or received by ; or published/downloaded via the intranet or internet or circulated in any other format must comply with MoPI guidelines. 7.4 Data Protection The policy is open and does not contain any personal data or information. However, any personal data processed as a result of this policy will be managed in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act It is acknowledged that 'sensitive personal data' may be processed and this data will be protected in accordance with the requirements of the Act. Additional care should be taken when disclosing or sharing information to ensure the data is safe in transit. This policy is available to the general public. Copies can be obtained by writing to: Policy Management Unit Strategic Development Thames Valley Police HQ Oxford Road Kidlington Oxon OX5 2NX 7.5 Freedom of Information Act This policy is considered to be available to the public and without risk of a breach of security or impedance to the course of a criminal investigation, and will be published on the Force Website. 7.6 Protective Markings The policy has been assessed for its correct level of protective marking and is NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED. NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED 14

15 7.7 Health & Safety at Work The main aim of this policy is to ensure TVP compliance with all applicable HMRC, Financial, Road Traffic and Health and Safety legislation. This policy is to be read in conjunction with the Force Health and Safety Management Policy and Force Health and Safety Manual, which set out the requirement for documented risk assessment by a competent person, when exposure to a particular hazard arising from workplace or pre-planned Policing work activity can be said to be reasonably foreseeable. Force documented Generic Risk Assessments (GRAs), governing health and safety considerations for General Patrol and Custody already exist. 8.0 Monitoring and Review The application and outcomes of this policy will be constantly reviewed in relation to general considerations by Corporate Finance Dept. A full review will be carried out by the Head of Corporate Finance and will examine: * Changes in legislation * Court rulings Domestic, European and Human Rights * Examples of good practice from other Forces or other organisations * Changes in Home Office Circulars * Developments with ACPO Policy Unit * Representations made by individuals and relevant organisations * Relevant Equality data This policy will be reviewed every two years. For use by the Policy Management Unit Only Policy signed off by: Chief Officer Policy Authorisation LINDA WATERS DIRECTOR of FINANCE Date 1 May 2012 Version Date Summary of amendments May 2012 Bringing policy up to date with good practice and national guidance in relation to travel and vehicle use Change reference to Police Authority to read Police and Crime Commissioner Amend title to read Director of Finance NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED 15