Social workers chosen to trial electric cars in Milton Keynes

The 70-strong team have been loaned four automatic electric cars for an initial four-month trial.

Each year the team travels tens of thousands of miles around Milton Keynes visiting children and families. The move to electric will significantly cut fuel costs on the average 150 miles travelled per social worker each month.

As well as being less polluting, electric cars are near-silent and are cheaper per mile to run than petrol cars. They’re ideally suited for the care team, who make lots of short local journeys through the day.

Social worker Sean Harriot said: “We’re enjoying using the electric cars, as we do cover a lot of miles and this is much better for the environment. It’s also great because we’re claiming less mileage overall and saving money which could be used in other ways to help children and families.”

Councillor Zoe Nolan, Cabinet member for children and families said: “I’m proud that we want Milton Keynes to be the greenest city and carbon neutral by 2030. Having electric cars for our social workers is a part of that plan. It makes sense to do what we can to tackle climate change and it makes good financial sense too. Innovations like this take a little investment up front for a good result and are absolutely the right way for a modern council to be working.”

Once the trial ends in autumn, the council will make a decision on whether electric vehicles should roll out permanently to this and other teams who make frequent local trips.