TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT
Halfords’ cycle2work account manager Elle Thompson explains how the company can get the public sector cycling thanks to a new framework agreement.
awarded a national framework agreement for the supply of the Government’s cycle- to-work scheme, which is open to all pub- lic sector organisations, by the Healthcare Purchasing Consortium (HPC).
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Running for four years, this framework agreement enables all public sector bod- ies to take advantage of the Halfords cy- cle2work scheme without being required to complete their own lengthy tendering process. Previously, public bodies such as government departments, police forces, fire and rescue services, councils, universi- ties and other public bodies had access to a templated cycle scheme under a frame- work agreement held by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG). However, this contract and frame- work for the cycle scheme was withdrawn by the CLG in 2010 – the HPC framework agreement is currently the only cycle-to- work specific agreement in place in the UK.
This is really good news for any UK pub- lic body wishing to launch a cycle-to-work scheme, as it frees up resource by avoiding the traditional procurement route. On top of this, the Government has pledged to “en- courage behaviour change to help people live healthier lives” and to achieve a target of a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions by
34 | public sector executive Mar/Apr 11
alfords cycle2work achieved a per- fect 100% score and was recently
2020. This is now translating into ambi- tious carbon footprint reduction targets for many organisations, and cycle-to-work is a powerful way of helping to achieve these targets.
The average participant on the cycle2work scheme cycles 14 miles per day and re- duces their CO2 emissions by an estimated 18,787.5g per week (based on a Ford Focus 8i Duretec petrol engine (167g/km) which emits 3757.5 g of CO2 per day).
Halfords cycle2work would like to engage with employers to encourage a greater number of people to cycle to work. This is a great employee benefit, which enables em- ployers to loan bicycles and related safety equipment to employees as a tax-exempt benefit – usually via salary sacrifice. The use of the hired bike helps its user reduce congestion and their carbon footprint, whilst also improving engagement levels by making it easy to build exercise into daily routine.
Even better, Halfords have devised an offer specific to the public sector, which gives the choice of either an up-front cycle discount or a revenue share provision paid back to employers as ‘cashback’, plus a range of value added services.
Employees can access bicycles and acces-
sories through Halfords stores as well as the growing network of independent retail- ers affiliated to the Halfords cycle2work scheme.
With absolute focus and commitment to scheme compliance, and a client-led ap- proach to providing a fully managed serv- ice, any employer taking advantage of this framework agreement can have complete confidence that the scheme they are provid- ing to their employers is in accord with all legal and HMRC requirements (including the latest end of hire term arrangements) and that it is fully supported and managed on their behalf and will not prove an un- necessary burden upon already stretched resources.
A wide range of public sector organisations, including councils, police and NHS trusts have already adopted the framework agree- ment and are benefiting from the market leading cashback provision.
FOR MORE INFORMATION Elle Thompson
cycle2work account manager T: 07943 877 142 E:
elle.thompson@
halfords.co.uk
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