Rising fuel costs driven by tensions in the Middle East are adding pressure to local authority budgets, though there are few signs of actual shortages, according to a new survey.
The survey, conducted by the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE), found that just over a quarter of respondents considered the impact of recent fuel price increases on their local authority to be ‘very significant.’
While the price rises are primarily creating cost and budgetary pressures rather than supply shortages, a third of respondents said they were ‘very concerned’ about the potential impact of fuel prices and shortages on their fleet operations.
Just under half of those surveyed said they have a business continuity plan in place to deal with potential fuel shortages, with most of the remainder reporting they were in the process of developing one.
When asked whether the fuel price crisis was prompting councils to revisit their fleet decarbonisation plans, around three quarters indicated there had been ‘no change.’ Similarly, just under two thirds said the crisis had not led them to implement fuel efficiency measures more vigorously.
