Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to request information regarding your local authority’s approach to fleet decarbonisation, carbon reduction initiatives, and related funding and infrastructure developments. This information will be used as part of academic research into the challenges and progress of local authorities in transitioning to low and zero-emission fleet operations.

1. Organisational Profile (Contextual Data)
a) Does the authority contract out services for the collection of waste and recycling? Yes – the waste and recycling is contracted out to Veolia
b) Which political party currently holds overall control of the authority? The Liberal Democrats now hold overall control of the Council.
c) What is the current total number of employees in the organisation?
Service and headcount total 1463 as of June 2025
Adult Social Care & Health - 277
Chief Executive's Office - 189
Children's Services - 450
Place & Growth - 316
Resources & Assets - 231 Includes staff on the following contracts: Permanent, Fixed Term, Apprentice, Apprentices on Permanent contracts, Staff seconded into a role
Excludes staff on the following contracts: Casual Workers, Agency Workers, Traded/Partner Workers, Consultants & Suppliers, Students, Volunteers, Staff seconded out of a role
d) What is the approximate size of the population served by the authority? The Census/ONS data is publicly accessible Home - Office for National Statistics

2. Policy and Governance
a) Does the authority have a formal carbon reduction plan or strategy? Yes, for further details please see our climate emergency action plan here (https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/climate-emergency/climate-emergency-action-plan), which is updated annually.
b) In what year was this strategy adopted? 2019, but the progress report is updated annually.
c) What is the authority’s declared net zero target date? The council has an ambition to do as much as possible to be carbon neutral by 2030.

3. Technical and Infrastructure
a) What percentage of the fleet were EV or hybrid vehicles in each financial year from 2019/20 to 2024/25?
2019/20: 18 owned vehicle – 17 diesel including off road vehicles and a tractor operating in our country parks), 1 Electric vehicle (5.56% EV)
2020/21: 18 owned vehicle – 17 diesel including off road vehicles and a tractor operating in our country parks), 1 Electric vehicle (5.56% EV)
2021/22: 16 owned vehicle – 15 diesel including off road vehicles and a tractor operating in our country parks), 1 Electric vehicle (6.25% EV)
2022/23: 17 owned vehicle – 16 diesel including off road vehicles and a tractor operating in our country parks), 1 Electric vehicle (5.88% EV)
2023/24: 17 owned vehicle – 16 diesel including off road vehicles and a tractor operating in our country parks), 1 Electric vehicle (5.88% EV)
2024/25: 15 owned vehicle – 14 diesel including off road vehicles and a tractor operating in our country parks), 1 Electric vehicle (6.67% EV)
b) What was the total number of fleet vehicles (diesel, petrol, hybrid, and electric) in each financial year from 2019/20 to 2024/25?
2019/20: 18 owned vehicle – 17 diesel including off road vehicles and a tractor operating in our country parks), 1 Electric vehicle (5.56% EV)
2020/21: 18 owned vehicle – 17 diesel including off road vehicles and a tractor operating in our country parks), 1 Electric vehicle (5.56% EV)
2021/22: 16 owned vehicle – 15 diesel including off road vehicles and a tractor operating in our country parks), 1 Electric vehicle (6.25% EV)
2022/23: 17 owned vehicle – 16 diesel including off road vehicles and a tractor operating in our country parks), 1 Electric vehicle (5.88% EV)
2023/24: 17 owned vehicle – 16 diesel including off road vehicles and a tractor operating in our country parks), 1 Electric vehicle (5.88% EV)
2024/25: 15 owned vehicle – 14 diesel including off road vehicles and a tractor operating in our country parks), 1 Electric vehicle (6.67% EV)
c) Has the authority implemented the use of low carbon fuels (e.g., HVO)? If so, what year did this begin? No
d) What percentage of the fleet used low carbon fuels in each financial year from 2019/20 to 2024/25 since implementation, if applicable? N/A

4. Financial and Economic Implications
a) What was the total capital expenditure on low/zero-emission (EV/hybrid) fleet vehicles in each financial year from 2019/20 to 2024/25? £0 for the years in questions, except for 21/22 which was £25k.
b) What was the level of financial reserves (in £) held by the authority in each financial year from 2019/20 to 2024/25? For reserve levels please see the annual statement of accounts on our website https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/council-and-meetings/open-data-and-transparency/data-sets-and-open-data?field_media_asset_browser_target_id=102.
c) Has external or grant funding been used to purchase low carbon or zero carbon vehicles, or implement EV charging infrastructure? Yes where relevant grants are available