Ministers should consider a social leasing scheme for care workers in rural areas across the UK to use electric cars, a climate charity has argued, saying this would save often low-paid staff large sums, while bringing a big environmental boost.
A focus group of carers in rural and semi-rural parts of the UK, carried out as part of the study, found that one woman earning less than £20,000 a year as a mobile carer drove four hours a day on average, spending £100-£150 a month on petrol.
A wider poll of 122 home care workers showed 30% spent £150 or more on fuel a month, and half spending at least £100, with nearly a third saying they had considered giving up their car over the last three years, mainly due to costs.
While carers can often claim mileage costs for travel between clients, some of those surveyed for the study, by the climate charity Possible, said they could not do this, or could only claim if they were taking a client in the car.
Others said the mileage rates nowhere near covered the costs of running a car, especially when non-fuel costs such as maintenance and repairs were taken into account. Of the 122 people surveyed, only three said they were able to claim for extra expenses.
The report, compiled with help from the Care Workers’ Charity, noted that such financial pressures appeared to be one of the reasons behind the difficulties care operators had in finding and retaining staff.
Earlier research by the Homecare Association, which represents care providers, found that of 627 providers surveyed, nearly half said staff had left or were planning to leave because they could not afford fuel costs.
Using statistics for average mileage in the sector, the report calculated that care home staff could save up to £500 or more a year just on driving for work, with the amount depending on which electricity tariff they could use.
Given the high upfront costs of electric cars, the charity is recommending that ministers consider a social leasing plan, in which the government acts as a guarantor, with the scheme targeted at the lowest-paid, highest-mileage care staff.
This should, the report argues, be rolled out along with measures to help recipients with charging points at home, another significant barrier in switching to an electric car.