16 October 2023
Your request
Does the council currently have a green fleet strategy for converting to EVs/low carbon vehicles?
Please state the total number of vehicles registered to your council fleet in the following years, and please state how many of these were electric at the end of:
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2021 |
2022 |
2023 YTD |
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Number of electric cars |
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Number of electric vans |
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Total number of vehicles Internal Combustion Engine + electric |
Please state how many electric vehicles the council currently has on order?
Please state the total number of electric vehicle charging points available in your council depots at the end of:
- 2021
- 2022
- 2023 YTD
For each of the following calendar years, please state the total expenditure on electric vehicle charging infrastructure at the council’s depots:
- 2021
- 2022
- 2023 YTD
Our response
We consider that the EIR is the correct legislation for this response.
We note that Section 2(EIR) defines Environmental Information as follows:-
Environmental Information has the same meaning as in Article 2(1) of the Directive, namely any information in written, visual, aural, electronic or any other material form on—
a) the state of the elements of the environment, such as air and atmosphere, water,soil, land, landscape and natural sites including wetlands, coastal and marine areas, biological diversity and its components, including genetically modified organisms, and the interaction among these elements;
b) factors, such as substances, energy, noise, radiation or waste, including radioactive waste, emissions, discharges and other releases into the environment, affecting or likely to affect the elements of the environment referred to in (a);
c) measures (including administrative measures), such as policies, legislation, plans, programmes, environmental agreements, and activities affecting or likely to affect the elements and factors referred to in (a) and (b) as well as measures or activities designed to protect those elements;
(d) reports on the implementation of environmental legislation;
(e) cost-benefit and other economic analyses and assumptions used within the framework of the measures and activities referred to in (c); and
(f) the state of human health and safety, including the contamination of the food chain, where relevant, conditions of human life, cultural sites and built structures inasmuch as they are or may be affected by the state of the elements of the environment referred to in (a) or, through those elements, by any of the matters referred to in (b) and (c);
We consider that this request falls within the EIR scheme.
- We have a draft Fleet Management Strategy which promotes the switch to low/zero emission vehicles by 2030
2. Number of electric cars = 22
Number of electric vans = 62 including Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV)
Total number of vehicles Internal Combustion Engine + electric = 90 excluding Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV)
3. None at present.
4. Please state the total number of electric vehicle charging points available in your council depots at the end of:
a. 2021 21
b. 2022 47
c. 2023 YTD 55
5. I can confirm that we have reviewed this part of your request but consider that the information is commercially sensitive and therefore we are unable to provide it.
We therefore engage Regulation 12(5e) to this part of the request.
Regulation 12 (5)(e) Confidentiality of commercial or industrial information
12.—(5) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), a public authority may refuse to disclose information to the extent that its disclosure would adversely affect—
(e) the confidentiality of commercial or industrial information where such confidentiality is provided by law to protect a legitimate economic interest
Most of the infrastructure was installed by a third party who won a tender contract. The cost cannot be revealed as we have a number of other tenders in process so that revealing their costs would enable competitors to outbid them.
It may also risk discouraging other companies from wanting to work with the Council as well as risking damage to the relationship with the current third party supplier.
As this request relates to Environmental Information; we have also considered the public interest in disclosure/maintaining the exception.
Public Interest in Disclosure
We note Regulation 12(2) EIR has a presumption of disclosure.
We also consider that disclosure would increase the public’s understanding of this issue and we note the general benefit in transparency where possible.
Public Interest in maintaining the exception
It is not in the public interest to provide detrimental information about a third party if to do so would weaken the third party’s position in the market.
It is not in the public interest to provide commercially sensitive information if it would mean that the Council cannot attract future suppliers as we cannot then achieve the best value for money for our residents.