North Lanarkshire Council was found by Traffic Commissioner (TC) Richard Turfitt (pictured) to have “lost focus on the safety and management” of a Section 19 permit-based home-to-school transport operation.
A Public Inquiry (PI) was called after one of those vehicles lost both nearside real wheels in October 2023. No children were aboard at the time. A DVSA investigation subsequently found missing inspection records and some that had not been completed properly. Little forward planning was in evidence and some records were unavailable on the initial visit.
In addition, the Agency discovered that the driver defect reporting system was “not fully effective,” relying on weekly driver defect reports. A prohibition notice was issued during the fleet check for a passenger seat loose at the floor mounting, something that should have been identified during the driver’s walk round check, Mr Turfitt’s written decision notes.
In response to the shortcomings, the local authority (LA) had agreed a contract with an external maintenance provider and created an action plan. That saw it appoint a new Business Manager (Fleet Services), who took up those responsibilities from 1 July.
At the PI it was confirmed that the DVSA investigation and the hearing had “compelled the operator to examine its systems and procedures for ensuring Section 19 permit compliance.”
Mr Turfitt notes that while effective controls were not in place at the time of the incidents, he has been assured that going forward, drivers will have a greater understanding from new guidance, ‘toolbox talks’, and monitoring of walk round checks.
The LA assured Mr Turfitt that it would invest in training for staff and that there would be oversight “from the highest level of the authority.”
In his decision on the North Lanarkshire Council case, Mr Turfitt says that is “now satisfied that there are proper systems in place to ensure compliance and ensure the safety of the passenger carrying fleet.”
He is also satisfied that the LA has taken steps around reporting lines and implementation of a specific wheel security policy with a third party to undertake checks. The council has pledged to apply maintenance standards in-house and with external suppliers with audits in both cases.
However, in a pointed remark, Mr Turfitt notes that “it should not have proved necessary for a Traffic Commissioner to alert an LA to the basic concepts of health and safety legislation and management.”
He continues: “It will no doubt have been of significant concern to those who entrust loved ones to be carried under these permit operations that maintenance and compliance management had been allowed to deteriorate to the point where a longstanding issue deteriorated and a wheel became detached from a vehicle.
“I share those concerns. This could so easily have resulted in tragedy and the management of safety in the authority would have [been] found to be lacking.”
Three conditions have been attached by Mr Turfitt to the 35 Section 19 permits held by North Lanarkshire council:
- Engagement of a PSV CPC holder for the purpose of managing the operation of vehicles under the permits
- An independent audit by a DVSA-approved provider or equivalent body to assess systems for complying with PSV operational requirements and the effectiveness of the new structure, systems and procedures
- Adoption of KPIs for reporting via the operator’s business management team and senior management that any concerns raised by Mr Turfitt have been assuaged by assurances given at the hearing and evidence provided.
In his written decision, Mr Turfitt notes that while he has issued “the strongest of warnings” to North Lanarkshire Council, any repeat of the failings, or a failure to meet the conditions attached, will likely lead to removal of the permits.
Acknowledging that an alternative would have been to revoke the Section 19 permits held by the local authority, Mr Turfitt says that such a move would have been to “the detriment of all those members of the public who rely on these services.”
TC Turfitt’s written decision in full here.
