Council / SIC’s spend on repairing accidental damage to vehicle fleet nearly triples
THE MONEY spent by Shetland Islands Council (SIC) on repairing accidental damage to its vehicle fleet has nearly tripled over the last three years.
Just over £33,000 was spent dealing with accidental damage in 2022/23, but in 2024/25 that figure had risen to nearly £96,000.
The figures feature in a freedom of information request.
It comes after councillors were recently told that the SIC’s vehicle fleet was suffering a “higher level of damage” than expected.
The council was in an “unfortunate situation where some members of staff don’t take care of the vehicles as much as they could”, estate operations manager Carl Symons had said.
Speaking after that meeting, he that some incidents have also not been reported through the usual insurance process, putting “pressure” on budgets.
While the cost of accidental damage has nearly tripled in recent years, it is still relatively small part of the overall fleet maintenance.
More than £1.1 million was spent on servicing and routine maintenance on a fleet that currently contains nearly 380 vehicles.
But the increase in accidental damage is notable, given its sharp rise.
In 2022/23 £33,047 was spent on this and in 2023/24 it rose slightly to £38,503.
But in 2024/25 it was £95,874.
Most of the accidental damage cost in 2024/25 – at £30,384 – was attributed to vans and pick-ups.
With nearly 200 vans and pick-ups on the books it is the largest category of vehicle in the fleet.
Around £16,650 was attributed to cars and “car derived vans”, while £16,500 of accidental damage was credited to refuse collection vehicles.
Only two categories of vehicle did not incur accidental damage in 2024/25 – the SIC’s sole sweeper over 12,000kg in gross weight, and the library van.
The council self-insures, so where insurance claims have been upheld, some of these costs will be covered by the SIC’s internal insurance budgets, rather than by the service directly.
In response to the figures, Symons said: “We have seen an increase in the figures for accidental damage across our pool car fleet and unfortunately this can’t be attributed to fair wear and tear.
“We’re aware also that some incidents hadn’t been reported through insurance in the normal manner, putting pressure on our budgets to cover these uninsured losses.
“We are keen to work with staff who drive council vehicles to understand how we can reduce accidental damage, which will also protect vehicle values to help fund new vehicle replacements and maintain service delivery in future.”
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