Southwark Lib Dems slam council for using fossil fuel vehicles
Southwark Liberal Democrats have slammed the council for failing to reduce the number of fossil fuel vehicles in its fleet.
The local opposition party has hit out at the council after a decision to spend up to £8.7million on a new fleet of cars came to light.
The report recommending the decision states that the council cannot move to an all-electric fleet because the borough’s charging infrastructure is not sufficient.
Southwark Liberal Democrat deputy leader cllr Rachel Bentley said: “If the council can’t make the switch to electric vehicles because it’s failed to roll out charging points – how can it expect residents to?”
The decision comes after the council’s contract with an automotive firm to supply its fleet of cars expired. The new contract is worth £8.7million and will last for five years.
Cllr James McAsh, Cabinet Member for Clean Air, Streets & Waste said the new contract does not stipulate whether the vehicles will be internal combustion engines (ICE) or electric vehicles (EV).
He said: “This affords us to adapt over time and secure the maximum impact from public money.”
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request from December found that the number of EV’s in the council’s fleet stood at 14 out of 228 vehicles – the rest being petrol or diesel, along with a handful of hybrids.
The Lib Dems slammed the council for failing to make progress on electric vehicle charging points “and wider climate policy”.
Cllr Bentley said: “Southwark Labour simply are not treating the climate emergency with the urgency it needs.”
But the Labour run council doubled down on its “commitment” to progress.
Cllr McAsh said: “That’s why, through our Streets for People strategy, we are making it easier to walk and cycle, and why we can proudly boast the second highest number of EV charging points of all London boroughs.
“The council spends every pound as though it is from our pockets; with respect to the climate emergency that means getting the maximum carbon savings from our resources.
“For some vehicle types, the transition to electric is an efficient use of money whereas for others the technology does not yet make this viable. We must also consider efficiency and practicality in the present while balancing that with a vision for the future.”
(Picture: pexels/ khunkorn laowisit)
