Hard-pressed police urged to hunt down cheaper supermarket fuel

North Yorkshire Police has managed to cut its spending on vehicle fuel by £70,000 in the last six months, compared with the same period immediately prior to that. But a force spokesman said: “Drivers are encouraged to fill vehicles at supermarkets where possible due to lower prices.”

Other changes include downsizing the vehicle fleet with smaller alternatives, which are more fuel- efficient, and switching to diesel where possible to achieve better economy. The spokesman said: “The force has already put contingency plans in place to allow us to maintain front-line policing services to the communities we serve. These include using smaller vehicles and switching to more efficient fuels, such as diesel.”

The region’s other forces are introducing similar measures, with South Yorkshire Police expecting more than 90 per cent of its vehicles to be diesel powered in future and smaller models being chosen as the fleet is replaced.

Yorkshire’s four forces must find a combined £200m by 2015 after the coalition Government announced plans to cut funding by 20 per cent in real terms.

To help make the books balance, some chief constables have reduced their fuel budget at a time when some industry experts predict that enduring turmoil in the Middle East could push oil prices as high as $200 per barrel.

Humberside Police, which typically spends £1.5m a year on fuel, will today study detailed recommendations to cut its fleet and to use more efficient vehicles.

The force’s assistant chief officer for support, Phil Goatley, said it would monitor the fuel efficiency of all drivers and reward those who save the most money. “There are national fuel contracts in place to leverage buying power from across the police service,” he said.

“However, all this means that the detrimental impact of the seemingly inexorable rise in oil prices will only be delayed.

“The uplift in oil prices also knocks on to other energy related costs so gas and electricity prices which have previously been an area of significant cost pressure will continue to be so into next year and beyond.

“We have anticipated some of this but nobody will have priced into their budgets the effects of oil reaching $200 per barrel.”

North Yorkshire Police, which spends £1.5m on fuel each year, plans to cut the budget by almost seven per cent in 2011-12.

West Yorkshire Police expects to spend more than £3.1m on fuel – excluding VAT – in the current financial year, up from £2.9m in 2009-10. A spokeswoman for the force said: “Clearly, this is a substantial increase on the preceding financial year and demonstrates the effect of recent fluctuations in global fuel price.

“As in previous years, the force is looking to further increase its move to diesel-fuelled vehicles to deliver savings due to a generally greater miles-per-gallon.

“We also continue to advise users to use our own reserves of fuel or, where this is not possible, opt for the cheapest fuel possible.”

South Yorkshire Police is reducing the size of its fleet by four per cent and has plans to make more than nine in 10 of its vehicles run on diesel.

The force spent almost £1.8m at a rate of £1.02 per litre between the end of March 2010 and the end of February 2011. Supplies cost 90p on average during the corresponding period of 2009-10.

Head of fleet management Martin Whysall said managers were making drivers aware of how their driving style can affect miles-per-gallon performance.

“The force is downsizing vehicles to save cost and fuel use where possible,” he added. “For example, CID cars are now 1.4d Ford Fiestas – a change from 1.6d Ford Focuses – with an anticipated seven per cent reduction in fuel consumption. All future purchases will be diesel unless there is genuine operational reason why it would not be suitable.”

Other emergency services are also feeling the pinch. West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service expects its vehicle fuel and heating oil costs to rise from £425,600 to £480,000 next year but a spokeswoman said contingency funds were at hand. Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust’s fuel spending for this year is forecast to come in £1.2m over budget. “This year the Trust has had sufficient contingency funding in place to deal with the increase in fuel prices without affecting patient care,” a spokeswoman said.

“However, with fuel prices remaining high and further increases expected, we are currently in discussions with our commissioners to look at increasing this element of our budget to ensure we have sufficient funds in the year ahead.”