· Web viewThe IMD scores for Hertfordshire and the maps showing ... continuing the success of the leaflet that went to all ... (in wider sense of the word)

______________________Hertfordshire’s Accessibility Strategy________________________

Contents

1. Background

2. The Vision

3. The Objectives

4. LTP Linkages and Alterations

5. The Accessibility Planning Process

6. Strategic Accessibility Audit

7. Prioritisation Of Areas And Groups For Further Action

8. Theme-specific strategic level partnerships

9. Local Accessibility Assessments

10. Action Plans

11. Indicators, targets and monitoring

12. Summary

Appendix 1. Statements from relevant strategies

Appendix 2. Examples of current projects

Appendix 3. Consultation Groups

Appendix 4. Supporting Statements

Appendix 5. Glossary

Appendix 6. Maps

Appendix 7. List of inaccessible SOAs in Hertfordshire

Appendix 8. Action Plans

Appendix 9. Acronyms and Abbreviations

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1. BACKGROUND

The Social Exclusion Unit report, Making the Connections (2003) highlighted the fact that poor access to key services contributes to social exclusion. This is created by preventing people from participating in work or learning, or accessing healthcare, food shopping and other local activities. Barriers identified included inadequate public transport, lack of access to private transport and prohibitive costs of fares. This can adversely affect residents by preventing them from:

taking up and keeping employment, thereby restricting their choice of career.

participating in learning and thereby restricting their choice of courses. accessing health care which imposes costs on the patient of poorer health,

late diagnosis or late healthcare, as well as costs to the health provider of wasted resources.

accessing locally available healthy and affordable food, which can lead to having to make a long and/or expensive journey or eating a poor diet.

People should be able to access all facilities within reasonable time, with reasonable ease and within reasonable cost.

DfT Guidance on Accessibility Planning in Local Transport Plans was issued in December 2004 and forms the basis of this document. The Accessibility Planning Strategy is a daughter document of Hertfordshire’s Local Transport Plan 2006/07 – 2010/11 (available at www.hertsdirect.org.uk). This Accessibility Planning Strategy assesses the level of these problems in Hertfordshire and sets out the process whereby solutions can be found. It includes a programme for short-term ameliorisation measures and a long-term programme for ensuring that accessibility issues are built into planning decisions.

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2. THE VISION

The vision for improving accessibility in Hertfordshire has been developed in conjunction with stakeholders and key partners (see Appendix 3). The vision is:

‘To improve access opportunities to the key services of health, learning, work, food shopping and leisure by public transport, walking and cycling’.

It must be realised that achieving this vision is a long-term process. Whilst building on existing and creating new partnerships, improved communications and new ways of thinking created by this strategy should lead to improved access for all over time, the priority is to help those who are either excluded or have very poor levels of access at present.

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3. THE OBJECTIVES

Hertfordshire’s Accessibility Planning strategy contains three objectives, developed through key partners and stakeholders. These objectives have been derived from

Discussions in the Accessibility Steering Group LTP objectives DfT objectives from section 3.6 of the guidance document. Wider aspirations from HCC, regional and other plans.

The objectives are:

To support those who are disadvantaged to achieve their potential and to access sustainable employment.

To work in partnership with transport providers to achieve an efficient, affordable and enhanced transport system.

To develop a transport system that provides access to employment, shopping, education, leisure and health facilities for all, including those without a car and those with disabilities.

The objectives also link in with Hertfordshire County Council’s wider strategic objectives for transport, economic development, jobs, housing, health, education and social inclusion. The objectives listed in Appendix 1 are taken from a cross section of plans which set out to improve the living standards of all residents of Hertfordshire. Not all of them are listed in the following diagram, but all have been considered when drawing up a list of accessibility objectives.

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4. LTP LINKAGES AND ALTERATIONS

Accessibility is one of the Government’s shared priorities that has been outlined for local authorities to deliver through the Local Transport Plan process. Hertfordshire County Council through the development of its second Local Transport Plan has nine objectives, two of which address accessibility, these are:

‘To develop a transport system that provides access to employment, shopping, education, leisure and health facilities for all, including those without a car and those with impaired mobility.’

‘To ensure that the transport system contributes towards improving the efficiency of commerce and industry and the provision of sustainable economic development in appropriate locations.’

To some extent all of the LTP objectives contribute to improving accessibility, whether it is improving congestion or just improving personal safety. Accessibility is also an integral part of the County Council’s ‘Vision’, which has ‘….allowing access to all…’ as a component part of it.

This Accessibility Planning Strategy is the delivery mechanism in achieving these objectives and is the County Council’s way of mainstreaming accessibility issues. This report is a ‘daughter document’ to the full Local Transport Plan 2006/07 – 2010/11, but the Local Transport Plan document itself also contains a section summarising the Accessibility Planning work and refers to this daughter document for further information.

Alterations in this version of the strategy document which differ from the July 2005 submission result from the continuing information we have been receiving from the partners.

Health reforms means that health care is being centralised and that patient choice of hospital will be a reality during the period of LTP2.

Questionnaire results from Broxbourne residents and employers in Hertfordshire have given us more evidence as to transport problems

Ofsted has reported that access to further education for 14-19 year olds is unsatisfactory.

A recent study based on access to out of school hours activities has also reported that more could be done to facilitate transport for those living in rural east and north Herts.

Other recent developments which need to be addressed by each district is how accessibility can be mainstreamed into the local development framework and local area agreements. From 2006 more liaison between district and county level on access from new developments will take place.

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5. THE ACCESSIBILITY PLANNING PROCESS

The development of the Accessibility Planning Strategy follows the process set out in the DfT’s ‘Guidance on Accessibility Planning in Local Transport Plans’ (December 2004). This is a logical process, which starts with assessing the current general problem (“the strategic accessibility audit”), progressing through looking at specific themes and local issues and ends up with an action plan and monitoring regime.

The process is set out in the diagram follows:

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6. THE STRATEGIC ACCESSIBILITY AUDIT

Hertfordshire has a complex set of circumstances that effects transport and the accessibility of services and facilities. Issues such as unemployment, car-ownership, social inclusion, accessibility and cross boundary issues are discussed in this section. Facilities are discussed in section 6.7, and towards the end of the section 6.9, people’s attitudes and perceptions of transport issues are evaluated.

6.1 Population The population of Hertfordshire is over one million (Census 2001), and the percentage breakdown of age groups closely mirrors that of the rest of the country. The table below shows this breakdown, and the maps beneath the table show the geographical distribution.

Population by age groupIn Hertfordshire National Figures

% aged under 16 20% 20%% aged from 16-19 5% 5%% aged from 20-64 60% 59%% aged 65 and over 15% 16%

The map below shows the distribution of under 16 year olds in Herts, the darker colours represent wards where there are greater than the national figures.

Map1. Under 16 year oldsThe map below illustrates percentages of 16-19 year olds in Hertfordshire; this will be taken into account when undertaking the local audit. It shows areas where there are more than the national percentage (5%) of young

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people who may not be able to afford public transport and do not have access to a car. These young people will need to access, for example, work opportunities further education, health care, and leisure activities.

Map 2. 16-19 year olds

The map below illustrates the distribution of 65+ year olds , 16% is the national average, the darker coloured wards show where the higher than national average concentrations are situated. This is important because 40% of older people in rural areas say that access to services is difficult, also 91% of single pensioners and 53% of pensioner couples do not own a car and depend on public transport, nearly half of all households without a car are pensioner households. (Excluded older people – Social Exclusion Unit Interim Report, by ODPM Social Exclusion Unit, March 2005)

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Map 3. 65+ year olds

The distribution of different age groups in Hertfordshire has been demonstrated to be scattered across the county, and therefore accessibility issues related to specific age groups is not related to one particular part of the county.

6.2 UnemploymentThe county has low unemployment levels; the percentage unemployed in Herts is 3.1% compared to the national figure of 5%. From the Indices of deprivation, Hertfordshire officially has only one super output area in the most deprived 10% of all areas across England and only two in the most deprived 20%.People living on low incomes are likely to have particular issues around the cost of accessing public transport .

6.3 Car ownership Car ownership in Herts is high, 41% of homes have one car and 41% have two or more cars (Census 2001). However, there is a significant proportion of residents (18%) that do not have access to a car, and in rural areas, people without access to a car are often excluded as transport problems are hidden in areas of apparent affluence. 91% of single pensioners and 53% of pensioner couples do not own a car and depend on public transport, nearly half of all households without a car are pensioner households. (Excluded older people – Social Exclusion Unit Interim Report, by ODPM Social Exclusion Unit, March 2005)

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The map below illustrates how car ownership is spread across the county, There are wards throughout the county where up to 40% of households do not have access to a car.

Map 4 – Car ownership

6.4 Social Inclusion and Accessibility

The Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) is a tool by which deprivation can be measured in England; England has been divided into 32,482 areas, known as Super Output Areas (SOAs), and Hertfordshire has 683 SOAs. The higher the area is in the ranking list, indicates the higher the deprivation. None of Hertfordshire’s wards are in the 20% most deprived wards listed in the Indices of Multiple Deprivation, whilst 49% are in the top 20% (i.e are the least deprived).

See the chart below

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Hertfordshire wards by deprivation

01

5

7

109

12

10

18

28

0 0

2

7

9 9

12 12

15

34

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

0-10% 11-20% 21-30% 31-40% 41-50% 51-60% 61-70% 71-80% 81-90% 91-100%

Degree of Deprivation (0% = most deprived)

Perc

enta

ge o

f war

ds

20032004

Hertfordshire wards by deprivation

Looking at the IMD from a national and regional level, Hertfordshire is not deprived, however looking across the county, there are districts, wards and super output areas that are more deprived than others.

Relevant statistics are:

Nationally - Hertfordshire is the least deprived of all counties in the Eastern Region and the 12th least deprived of the 149 counties and Unitary Authorities across England.

At District level -three of its districts – Stevenage, Broxbourne and Watford – are in the most deprived 50% of districts across the East of England region, with Stevenage in the most deprived third.

Looking at the county from the other domains that make up the indices, eg health and education domains, there are other issues that emerge:

Hertfordshire has low levels of health deprivation, only one area, (Bedwell in Stevenage) is the most deprived 20% across England.

With reference to the education, skills and training domains in Herts, although no areas are in the most deprived 10% across the country, 40 SOAs (5.9%) are in the most deprived 20%.

Social exclusion is linked closely with the ability to access key services. If people do not own a car or have access to a car, then they are reliant on public transport. The reliability, existence of and cost of public transport therefore are very important factors to consider with regards social exclusion.

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Hertfordshire is an affluent county but pockets of deprivation can be hidden. Passenger transport, walking and cycling are vital to those who do not own or have access to a car. There are a number of transport barriers to overcome to ease access to the transport network and services. Inadequate transport information also contributes to social exclusion. For example bus timetables are not easily accessible to people who do not speak English as a first language, and are also not accessible to people who are visually impaired and where other forms of timetable information would be more appropriate. Projects which have addressed dissemination of information are Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA) for Herts, the Intalink programme and Hertfordshire Integrated Transport Partnership.

Looking at the demographic distribution of people in Hertfordshire and the Indices of Deprivation, although there are wards in Hertfordshire with higher than the national average number of older people, younger people and no-car households; on the whole, Hertfordshire does not have significant deprivation issues. Rural areas (see Map 4) tend to have higher car ownership than urban areas.

6.5 Transport

Hertfordshire occupies around 1650 km2, and an extensive road network covers much of this area. There is also a network of north to south railway lines.

The commercial bus network is shown in green below, in 2005/6 85% of urban households were within 5 mins walk of a half hourly or better bus service, compared with 40% of rural households who were within 13 minutes walk of the same services.

In summer 2005, as part of the Strategic Rail Authority's Community Rail Development (CRD) strategy, community rail routes were designated one of which is the Abbey Line (Watford to St Albans) –this ensures that the line is managed to meet local requirements at an affordable price. It also provides increased powers to local partnerships, bringing together stakeholders in support of their lines.

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Map 5. Hertfordshire Bus and Train Network

Congestion is an issue of concern in Herts and the Congestion Reference Flow (CRF) ratio provides a simple indicator of congestion levels and delays experienced on different parts of the road network.

To calculate the CRF ratio for a selected link, a number of local traffic characteristics are considered (e.g. proportion of heavy goods vehicles, peak period flow, directional split and road width.)

The map below shows that more serious congestion occurs along some stretches of M25, M1 and A1(M).

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Map 6 Interurban Congestion in Hertfordshire

Congestion is a significant issue in the county within local towns, not just on the roads but also on the railways that pass through the county. Traffic flows are 35% higher than the national average. The increase in road traffic has affected the reliability of bus services. Residents find it difficult to plan journeys to hospitals, work and learning establishments when public transport timetables may be adversely affected by congestion.

Settlements within Hertfordshire consist of small and medium sized towns and are often no more than 5 miles apart. This creates complicated movements between towns and villages, and East-West movements between towns are especially difficult, particularly by the train and bus network.

Transport patterns are heavily influenced by Hertfordshire’s proximity to London. 20% of the County’s residents commute into London and a small percentage attend specialist hospitals such as Moorfields Eye Hospital. Many also travel to hospitals over the County boundaries, such as Chase Farm and Barnet hospitals.

6.6 Cross boundary issues.

Hertfordshire borders the London Boroughs of Harrow, Hillingdon, Enfield and Barnet, also the counties of Essex, Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire, Luton and Bedfordshire, therefore many Hertfordshire residents may use services in other counties such as Luton College and Addenbrookes Hospital. This has repercussions for providing an integrated transport and information service.

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Cross boundary issues have been regularly discussed at our Regional Meetings. When auditing access to hospitals for patients and their visitors as well as hospital workers, cross boundary issues have arisen much more than access to any of the other services. This has already been an issue in our Broxbourne case study (see Appendix 2). 42% of residents in the district are attending outpatient appointments across the boundary, to Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield. This involves changing buses and getting on Transport for London services to access the hospital. Not only does this mean that the journey time is unacceptable, but that also there may be extra cost if the journey is not integrated.

6.7 Facilities

The following have been mapped in the accessibility strategy (the facilities marked with a * will be audited in the near future as part of future actions): Within the brackets, are the reasons why they have been chosen for the audit.

Acute hospital (DfT guidance) Community and Diagnostic Centre (DfT guidance) Intermediate Care Facility (DfT guidance) General Practitioner Surgery (DfT guidance) Dentist (essential health facility) Optician (essential health facility) Libraries (essential community facility) FE Colleges (DfT guidance) Primary Schools (DfT guidance) Secondary Schools (DfT guidance) Medium to Large Employers (DfT guidance) Supermarkets (DfT guidance) Smaller Shops and Post Offices* (vital in rural community) Pharmacists* (essential health facility) Mental Health Facilities* (essential health facility) Chiropodists* (essential health facility) Farmers Markets* (source of healthy food) Rural tourist attractions* (economic reasons)

Assessing the accessibility issues in Hertfordshire is a complex task. By the nature of social exclusion, many of the groups or individuals that have accessibility problems will not already be included in the consultation process. It is also difficult to assess the true causes and extent of poor access if one is not within these excluded groups.

The County Council has therefore decided to assess accessibility through a range of objective and subjective data sources. The data sources audit used in the strategic accessibility are Accession GIS software, geodemographic data, information on the transport network, information from local pilots and questionnaires, DfT indicators and feedback from the Accessibility Planning Groups.

The following table shows which facilities the Council has used in its strategic audit, the time period used and the length of journey based on DfT indicators.

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Not all facilities have yet been mapped; other facilities yet to be mapped include tourist facilities in the countryside, pharmacists, facilities for mental health, farmers markets, rural tourist facilities and the smaller shops/post offices to be found in villages.

Type of facility No of facilities mapped

% accessibility for all people in Herts (from DfT core indicators)

% accessibility for disadvantaged people in Herts (from DfT core indicators)

Time period used for mapping purposes

Length of journey used for calculation

Acute Hospital 10 * 98.3% 99.3% 7-9am 60 mins

Community & Diagnostic 16 *

98.3% 99.3% 7-9am 60 mins

Intermediate Care Facility

10 98.3% 99.3% 7-9am 60 mins

GPs Divided into 8 PCT areas – 173 GPs

99% 99.6% 9am-12pm** 30 mins

Dentists 215 n/a n/a 9am-12pm** 30 minsOpticians 149 n/a n/a 9am-12pm** 30 minsLibraries 51 excl

mobile libraries

n/a n/a 9am -12pm** 40 mins

FE Colleges (inc Univ of Herts)

15 99.8% n/a 7-9am 60 mins

Primary School 416 99.8% 99.9% 7-9am 30 mins

Secondary School excl mid school

76 99.6% 99.8% 7-9am 40 mins

Employers – medium-large (50+employees)

629 99.7% 99.9% 7-9am 40 mins

Shops 98.8% 99.6% 9am-12pm** 30 mins

* including hospitals over county boundary** This is a variance to DfT recommended times after discussing the issue with stakeholders at the meetings.

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6.8 The strategic audit (see also maps in Appendix 6):

a) Hospitals

After consultation with the Beds and Herts Strategic Health Authority and the Investing in Your Health transport access group, the hospitals in Hertfordshire and close to the boundaries were divided into 3 types - acute hospitals, intermediate care facilities and community and diagnostic centres. Each type of hospital will have different transport requirements, for example outpatients will require good public transport links to community and diagnostic hospitals, whereas patients will probably not be accessing acute hospitals by bus. However staff and visitors for all types of hospital may be using public transport. In light of the many changes which are happening in this key service, the Council will be regularly liaising with the SHA.The 3 maps show county wide access to hospitals. Contour bands are based on the journey time thresholds from the DfT core indicators (30 and 60 minutes). These areas in red are where it takes over 60 minutes to access a hospital by bus.

Access to mental health was at this stage not mapped as the SHA is currently consulting with others over key changes to the service.

b) GPs

A list of GPs in Hertfordshire has been obtained from the NHS. As a starting point it has been assumed that all GP’s are equally attractive destinations offering the same services and are open all day every day. Access by bus during the morning time slot (0900-1200 hours) has been considered and it has been assumed that patients would be prepared to walk up to 800 metres to / from an appropriate bus stop.

Contour time bands are based on the journey time thresholds from the DfT core indicators (15 and 30 minutes). Those areas in red (and white) are those where it takes over 30 minutes to access the nearest GP by bus. In general accessibility is reasonably good due to the inclusion of the rural branch surgeries in this analysis and use of a 3 hour access time slot. However a number of areas still fall beyond the 30 minute threshold, these include:

Rural area SW of Royston Rural area to NE of Buntingford Rural area to E of Stevenage Standon (and area to south) Area to SW of Bishops Stortford Area to W of A10 Large rural area to west of Welwyn Garden City & Hatfield) Areas to north and south of Hemel Hempstead

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c) Dentists and Opticians

Access by bus and train during the morning slot from 9am to midday has been considered. In general accessibility is good, however a number of areas still fall beyond the 30 minute threshold, these include rural areas in the north and east of Herts, and small areas in the West and South of Herts.

d) Libraries

Access by bus and train during the morning slot from 9am to midday has been considered. In general accessibility is good, however a number of areas still fall beyond the 30 minute threshold, these include rural areas in the north and east of Herts, and small areas in the West and South of Herts.

e) Further Education

In terms of education we have concentrated at this stage on access for 16 – 19 year olds to further education colleges, as it is a statutory requirement for the county to provide home to school transport for children of compulsory school age therefore accessibility is less of an issue for the younger age group.

Initially a list of colleges within Hertfordshire has been identified from county directories. The University of Hertfordshire has been included as some 16-19 year olds are on arts courses. Following consultation with education stakeholders access by public transport has been investigated during the time period 0700-0900. At this stage all of the colleges are assumed to be equally attractive and access to the nearest college destination has been considered. It has been assumed that students would be prepared to walk up to 800 metres to / from an appropriate bus stop.

The map shows the areas of the county which fall within defined journey time thresholds to colleges by bus which correspond to the DfT core indicator thresholds. Those areas shown in red are the origins from which it takes longer than 60 minutes to reach the nearest college by bus during the morning peak period (including walk time). Unfortunately it has not been possible at this stage to add in the appropriate train services.

Areas with poor access include the following:

Tring and the surrounding areas. Accessibility to this area is likely to be improved by the addition of FE colleges across the county border and the consideration of rail services.

Rural area to east of Hatfield. Colleges are relatively close by, but bus service provision is poor

Royston (and the rural area to the south). Accessibility to Royston should improve once the rail services are added.

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Other smaller pockets of rural areas

Many of these areas are similar to those mentioned in the Education Access Study ‘Which Way - A study examining the travel problems experienced by 16-19 year olds in post 16 education’.

f) Employment

The locations of major employers (defined as those with over 100 employees) have been identified by the Information Management Unit. Access by bus between 0700-0900 has been initially considered.

The map shows the areas falling within the time bands relating to the DfT core thresholds (ie within 20 minutes and 40 minutes). As the major employers are concentrated in the urban areas again it is the rural areas of north and eastern Hertfordshire which have the poorest access.

g) Food shopping

A list of supermarkets in Hertfordshire have been identified through directories and subsequently by the DfT. Using Accession, the largest poorly accessible areas to a large supermarket are rural areas in North Herts. However there is also an area to the east of Broxbourne which is also shows poor accessibility to large supermarkets. Small village shops and others that sell food, however have not yet been mapped. With the inclusion of these the maps are likely to show different results.

E-shopping was also considered as a component of accessibility planning, however national statistics online reveal that only 52% of UK Households have internet access, so e-shopping is not seen as an alternative to accessing supermarkets by public transport, particularly for the socially excluded.

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6.9 Attitudes

Fear of crime Personal safety issues influence peoples choice of transport. Crime is one of the most obvious indicators affecting quality of life. It is often fear of crime that keeps people in their houses. The Council will work with partners with responsibility for crime reduction to tackle crime and fear of crime and thereby widen peoples travel horizons. For example nuisance alleyways have been recently identified as an area for concern by the Council and policy is being formulated on this issue. Also if bus services are being adversely affected by anti-social behaviour, then reporting of the problem to appropriate authorities is advised rather than reducing the service. The next revision of the Herts crime and drugs strategy will start in 2006, and it is recommended that consultation around accessibility and fear of crime associated with travelling on public transport will be included. It is often small things like lack of lighting, tall hedges, lack of pavements that can affect people’s perception and the reality of safety. Designing out crime at the planning level can help.

Information from local pilots and questionnaires. In 2004, following a request from the Broxbourne LSP, the County Council set up a study into Broxbourne residents into transport access to health care in the District. Results from the questionnaire are detailed in Appendix 2.

Data from a recent MORI poll was also used. This contained a question about accessibility of services. Accessing a local hospital appears to be significantly more problematic, with over a third of residents saying that it is difficult to get to a hospital using their usual form of transport. . See the graph below:

MORI Poll Results – 2005. Difficulty of getting to services: (Hertfordshire Environment Survey. Telephone Survey Report September 2005)

% difficulty accessing services by usual form of transport

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

corner shop supermarket doctor local hospital parks & leisure

20042005

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6.10 Priorities

Facilities to which access needed to be addressed are indicated below by the number of ticks in the columns, this was a method of prioritising key services.

Facility Is this a DfT core indicator?

Is there unreasonable access from attitude survey? (MORI and other questionnaires?)

Are there less than 50 facilities in Herts and close to Herts boundaries?

Hospitals GPs DentistsOpticiansLibrariesFE Colleges Secondary Schools

Primary Schools Employers Shops PharmacistsChiropodistsMental Health Facilities

?

Rural tourist facilities

?

Smaller shopsRural post offices

?

Farmers markets

?

Type of Facility Priority and reason whyAcute Hospital High Priority

Although DfT indicators show good accessibility for Herts, results and local audits show there are accessibility issues to health services which need resolving.

Community and Diagnostic Hospitals

High PriorityAlthough DfT indicators show good accessibility for Herts, results and local audits show there are accessibility issues to health services which need resolving.

Intermediate Care Facility

High PriorityAlthough DfT indicators show good accessibility for

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Herts, results and local audits show there are accessibility issues to health services which need resolving.

General Practitioners Medium PriorityAlthough DfT indicators show good accessibility, strategic audit shows some areas where inaccessibility is poor, particularly in rural areas

Dentists Medium PriorityThis is not one of the DfT core indicators and preliminary mapping shows that there is fairly good accessibility to dentists apart from in rural areas.

Opticians Medium PriorityThis is not one of the DfT core indicators and preliminary mapping shows that there is fairly good accessibility to dentists apart from in rural areas.

Libraries Medium PriorityThis is not one of the DfT core indicators and preliminary mapping shows that there is fairly good accessibility to dentists apart from in rural areas.

FE Colleges (inc 1 University)

High PriorityMapping shows that there are areas in Herts where people cannot easily access further education, it is also a facility listed as a DfT core indicator.

Secondary Schools & Primary Schools

Low Priority Assuming use of home to school transport as well as public transport – 100% accessibility. We have not concentrated on schools at this stage because it is a statutory requirement for the county to provide home to school transport for children of compulsory school age.

Employers – medium – large (50+ employees)

Medium PriorityAccess to work is satisfactory according to Accession and the MORI poll, however there are problems for people without a car and working unsocial hours.

Shops Medium PriorityAccess to shops is satisfactory according to Accession and the MORI poll, however disadvantaged people living in rural areas may experience hardship because they are unable to access healthy food.

Pharmacists, chiropodists, facilities for mental health

Medium PriorityThese are additional health facilities that are not part of core indicators but however are important to the health of Herts residents.

Tourist facilities in the countryside, smaller shops and post offices in rural areas

Medium PriorityThese are facilities which provide disadvantaged people living in rural villages with the services they need and also create an economic opportunity for workers living in rural areas.

Farmers markets Medium PriorityThese are a source of food and a source of local

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economic opportunity for others.

7. PRIORITISATION OF AREAS AND GROUPS FOR FURTHER ACTION

The IMD scores for Hertfordshire and the maps showing concentrations of older and younger people and households without cars, combined with the outputs of the Accession mapping exercises, was the basis on which poor public transport being a barrier to economic and social inclusion was measured. A recent report called Mapping Deprivation Across Hertfordshire by Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion published in 2005, also used to help prioritise where further investigation or where action plans should be developed. This report was commissioned by Herts Prosperity and used in the development of the Investing in Communities project.

To summarise the areas where access was poor and where the IMD score was less than 16,241 (i.e. the top 50% SOAS listed in the English ranking) were calculated for each of the key services.

Identify inaccessible areas in Herts for each key service based on set times and defaults

Use origin and destination data to plot access to key services

by train and bus

Frequent engagementwith

stakeholders

Identify where areas are

coterminous with SOA’s less than

16,241 (worst 50%) ranking of

deprivation

Engagewith

stakeholders

Prioritise areas based on community

profile for public transport needs/ social exclusion

Identify action plans for prioritised areas, set local indicators to monitor future

changes in performance

METHODOLOGYMETHODOLOGY

Ongoing discussions with relevant

partnerships & stakeholders

This process resulted in a table reproduced in Appendix 7 which identified areas for further consideration in the local audit. The large rural areas in East and North Herts, apart from the area around Perry Green did not have any SOAs, listed in the worst 50% of the IMD.

7.1 Themes for further action

The strategic mapping audit has revealed some areas where accessibility by bus and train within the DfT time based indicator does not meet Government targets. These are the themes at which the local audits will look more closely

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Schools Good Maps show good coverage. Statutory requirement for county to provide home to school transport.

FE Colleges More work required

Maps show some large areas of poor access by Bus and train over 60mins.

Hospitals More work required

Consultation with some Broxbourne residents shows poor accessibility issues around Chase Farm hospital. MORI poll also confirms residents concerns. Maps show poor accessibility over 60 mins in small areas and larger rural parts of Hertfordshire.

GPs More work required

Similar pockets of poor access over 30 mins, in small areas and larger rural parts of Hertfordshire.

Work More work required

Poor access over 40 minutes is shown on maps particularly in rural parts of N Herts and to the W of A10 in E Herts, also smaller areas in Mid and SW Herts. Further consultation with partners and local mapping required.

Food Shops More work required

Poor access over 40 minutes is shown on maps particularly in rural parts of N Herts and to the W of A10 in E Herts, also smaller areas in Mid and SW Herts. Further consultation with partners and local mapping required.

7.2 Groups for further action

The following groups should be considered as socially excluded and their transport needs considered as a priority as part of this accessibility strategy.

Potentially disadvantaged groups

Reason

Primary School Children receiving free school meals

DfT has included this in its core indicator list, receipt of free school meals indicates income disadvantaged

Secondary School Children receiving free

DfT has included this in its core indicator list, receipt of free school meals indicates income

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school meals disadvantaged16-19 year olds attending college

DfT has included this in its core indicator list. There are wards where there are more than the national average of 16-19 year olds. (5%) See map 2 in the strategic audit.

People without a car 18% of households in Hertfordshire do not own a car, there may also many other people within a household who are not able to drive a car; disabled people and elderly for example. See map 4 in the strategic audit.

Job Seekers Allowance claimants

The DfT core indicator is for access to work for people aged between 16-74 and in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance, which indicates income disadvantaged

Disabled people and people/children with learning difficulties

Although this group includes a wide range of people, many disabled people have particular access issues. For example residents with special educational needs (SEN), without access to family transport need to access out of school hours learning opportunities.

People living in rural areas There is potential to reduce the dependence on the car by people living in rural areas, by improving public transport including CT and DRT to market towns and integrating with more strategic services into the urban centres. In many areas, where social exclusion is to be tackled, demand responsive services may offer the greatest levels of accessibility to all.

Older People 40% of older people in rural areas say that access to services is difficult, also 91% of single pensioners and 53% of pensioner couples do not own a car and depend on public transport, nearly half of all households without a car are pensioner households.

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8. THEME SPECIFIC STRATEGIC LEVEL PARTNERSHIPS

The County Council is taking the lead on accessibility planning in Hertfordshire, and has actively engaged a wide range of partners in the process. A full list of partners and consultees is included in appendix 3.Two newsletters have been sent out in 2005, information about regular meetings disseminated to relevant non-government stakeholders, districts and internal partners.

Partnership working is the main method of assessing problems, developing solutions and forming joint action plans to address the objectives and issues identified in accessibility audits. The Council has set up regular stakeholder meetings, and involved key players from the health, education and social services authorities. These processes have been used to undertake the local accessibility audits set out in Section 9, making full use of the specialist and local information that these partners can contribute.

Herts CC actively sought new partnerships by listening to other stakeholders, reading appropriate documents and attending meetings where accessibility is involved.

As well as working with partners within the Authority, links have been forged with other local authorities in the East of England Region. This ensures co-operation over cross boundary issues and ensures that best practice is achieved. Regular regional meetings have been held at Hertford County Hall, each being very well attended with at least one representative from each local authority. These authorities are: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Colchester, Essex, Hertfordshire, Luton, Norfolk, Peterborough, Southend-on-Sea, Suffolk and Thurrock.

A common joint statement has been agreed:

‘The local authorities within the East Region have developed a co-ordinated approach to accessibility planning through the establishment of a regional Accessibility Planning forum. The role of the Forum is to provide a mechanism to share information and experiences relating to accessibility planning. This assists local authorities across the Region to take a consistent approach whilst recognising different local issues and priorities. Each authority has also developed its own distinct approach based on consultation and GIS mapping. All authorities have developed stakeholder groups comprising representatives from health, education and employment sectors to identify key problems and opportunities. This has been used to ‘reality check’ the issues identified through the mapping audit and gain support from colleagues in relevant service areas.’

Further information on the organisations represented is available in Appendix 4 Consultation Groups.

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9. LOCAL ACCESSIBILITY ASSESSMENTS

Following on from the strategic audit and the prioritisation on where to concentrate the next audits, from July 2005 the county started undertaking local accessibility assessments, through local processes and using a theme by theme audit. 9.1 Local processes:

The council looked at access issues from a local perspective:

through partnership meetings inviting stakeholders from various sectors.

through consultation with the public through local mapping by speaking to officers/ planners in the district councils through the Local Strategic Partnership process through the Local Area Agreement Process via meetings with the community strategy officers, by reading the community strategies by contact with the Herts Rural Transport Partnership; the Community

Development Agency (CDA) for Herts.

Hertfordshire has 10 district councils and linkages were made in the Accessibility Planning process by inviting key people to meetings using a newsletter as the initial invitation to get planners, community officers and all types of people with an interest in accessibility planning involved.

The process is gaining momentum in the districts through the Local Development Framework in which the concept of accessibility has been introduced. Using Accession can help planners map access to new employment developments and map access from new residential developments to key services by public transport. It is important that public transport access is considered when developments are being planned.Local Area Agreements are another forum in which accessibility can be discussed. The Hertfordshire Local Agreement (LAA), will be delivered through to 2009. It outlines around 40 targets for service agreement that will be led and shaped by officers from all services. The targets are spread across 4 blocks –

Children and younger people Safer and stronger communities Economic development and enterprise Healthier communities and older people

From 2006 there will be a lot more involvement between County level and District level, when data will be shared between the 10 districts and the County Council; The aim being to have an integrated approach to local planning and access issues.

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Networking at district level also means that Accession modelling will be used to provide evidence of accessibility. For example a TIF bid for a cycle route in East Herts used evidence that accessibility could be improved by instigating a greenway in the area close to Bishop Stortford

Involving the community strategy officers at the initial stages also helped identify issues at a local level. They are the link pin to the LSP process.It is at district level that partnerships can be made through the Local Strategic Partnership Process (LSP). A Local Strategic Partnership is a group of stakeholders who will develop ways to involve local people in shaping the future of their neighbourhood and in how services are provided. LSPs are part of the Government's wider reform agenda to improve the quality and responsiveness of public services.

Hertfordshire Forward is the countywide LSP; it will be the accountable body for the Local Area Agreement, reflecting the fact that the agreement is not owned by one agency, but by all partners involved in its delivery.

Hertfordshire has 10 LSPs; each of the districts has regular LSP meetings, it is here that issues, which may involve accessibility, are discussed. For example Broxbourne LSP, has had an ongoing problem with their residents accessing a hospital within a reasonable travel time and within reasonable cost.

Each of the LSPs have a community strategy, examples of their issues and priorities are reproduced below:

Three Rivers Community Strategy 2003-08

‘Much of the District has excellent transport links, both for private car use and public transport. However, there are pockets of deprivation. Some areas have extremely poor access to services and shops along with inadequate public transport and low levels of car ownership.’

Hertsmere Borough Council Community Strategy

‘Encouraging greater access to services is one of the main guiding principles underpinning the actions of this strategy. To achieve this Hertsmere Together will examine ways to improve and extend the delivery of services to provide opportunities and access to all residents, across age groups and social backgrounds, particularly in areas experiencing social deprivation. Specific attention will be given to encouraging greater access to services by children, young people and their families. By investing in young people it is hoped that hey will develop a sense of pride and identity in their community’.

East Herts Council Community Strategy

‘The most serious social issues for the partnership is the isolation of people in rural areas who do not have cars – particularly frail elderly people, young people and disabled. Lack of mobility for these people can have a severe

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effect on their quality of life. Ensuring the development of transport schemes for these people in the community is a partnership priority’.

Stevenage Partnership - Community Strategy

We aim to create a town that's good to live in by providing affordable homes in clean, green and safe neighbourhoods with excellent transport links

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9.2 Assessment of local facilities.

9. 2.1 HEALTH

From the strategic audit, access to hospitals is the service which gives most cause for concern, this is evidenced not only by mapping evidence but more importantly by public surveys and questionnaires. Access to General Practitioners, Dentists and Opticians was also mapped and access was reasonable. Surveys also did not indicate that people had problems accessing GPs.. Other services to map in the near future include mental health facilities, chiropodists and pharmacists.

Introduction:

Hertfordshire’s health service currently falls under the aegis of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority (BHSHA). There are presently eight primary care trusts (PCTs) in Hertfordshire. However there are plans to merge the primary care trusts in 2006. The BHSHA will also be replaced with a regional health authority in the near future. This means that dialogue must be kept open after the reorganisation by maintaining links with personnel in the new structure.

The stakeholders who participated in the consultation were in agreement that good public transport access to health services is fundamental to improving the health of the socially excluded.

For a number of residents of Hertfordshire their nearest hospital may be in another local authority, however for mapping purposes it has been assumed that most Herts residents will use their nearest GP, dentist, pharmacist and optician. Patient choice is also an issue that will be dealt with at a later stage in the process, when the government has delivered its mechanism to facilitate patient choice.

PARTNERS

The County Council has worked with the following organisations to undertake the local audit of access to healthcare facilities:

Beds and Herts Strategic Health Authority The eight Primary Care Trusts in Herts Herts Health Informatics Service Beds and Herts Ambulance Patient Service Herts Integrated Transport Partnership

MEETINGS

The meetings we held with the partners are listed below:

Service Stakeholder meetings

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Hospitals and GPs

Various partnership meetings held 2004/5 specifically on Broxbourne pilot study

3 health theme meetings held 18 May, 3 Aug, and 6 Oct and a general meeting on 23 November.

Ongoing consultations with Beds & Herts SHAEVIDENCE

First we considered evidence to support the issues:

a) Accession Results( see also maps in Appendix 6:)

HOSPITALS:

The following tables were results from a GIS exercise which plotted access to hospital from 7-9am on a Monday morning for all residents in Hertfordshire accessing their nearest hospital and based on using bus and or train only. Current bus and train timetables were used and the defaults used were: average walk speed of 4.8km per hour, maximum walk to train station or bus stop; 800m. The figures differ slightly because there are more community and diagnostic than acute facilities; therefore there is more ‘choice’ in the second table.

(Accession Results) Access to Acute Hospitals by bus and train from 7-9amThis table below shows the percentage of Hertfordshire residents who can access the specified hospitals within 30, 60 and 70 minutes. The hospitals outside the county are much less accessible – only 8% of the population of Herts can access each of them within 60 mins and 18% within 70 mins. The most accessible is Lister hospital, followed by Watford, Hemel Hempstead and QE2.

Acute Hospital: 30 mins % 60 mins % 70 mins %Luton and Dunstable 0 1 2

Stoke Mandeville 0 1 3Addenbrookes 0 6 13

Princess Alexandra 1 16 19Chase Farm 2 28 44

Barnet 5 33 45QE2 7 35 46

Hemel Hempstead 10 38 47Watford 11 41 50

Lister 13 45 65

(Accession Results) Access to Community and Diagnostic Centres by bus and train from 7-9am. The table below shows the percentage of Hertfordshire residents who can access the specified hospitals within 30, 60 and 70 minutes. The hospitals outside the county are much less accessible – only 9% of the population of Herts can access each of them within 60 mins and 19% within 70 mins. The most accessible is St Albans City Hospital, followed by Hemel Hempstead and then Lister.

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Community and Diagnostic Centres:

30 mins % 60 mins % 70 mins %

Stoke Mandeville 0 1 3Addenbrookes 0 1 3

Luton and Dunstable 0 7 13Royston 2 12 19

Princess Alexandra 2 17 20Cheshunt 2 17 20

Chase Farm 2 35 47Herts and Essex 4 10 16

Potters Bar 4 33 52Barnet 5 29 48

QE2 7 47 66Hertford County 10 46 53

Watford 11 39 44Hemel Hempstead 11 42 51

St Albans City Hospital 11 46 56Lister 14 37 47

The following results were obtained by overlaying maps showing areas of inaccessibility with areas with relatively high deprivation.. See the maps in Appendix 6

SOAs, listed in the worst 50% of the English ranking of IMD with poor access to all hospitals types- Near Flamstead End,- Perry Green Area, - Part of RidgeSOAs, listed in the worst 50% of the English ranking of IMD with poor access to acute hospitals- Bushey NorthSOAs, listed in the worst 50% of the English ranking of IMD with poor access to intermediate care facilities- Maple CrossSOAs, listed in the worst 50% of the English ranking of IMD with poor access to intermediate care facilities and community and diagnostic centres- Part of Essendon area

GENERAL PRACTITIONERS

Using Accession to map access to General Practitioner Surgeries suggested that access by commercial public transport was good in all the PCT areas apart from that of Royston, Buntingford and Bishop Stortford PCT, i.e North and East Herts. (see Map below)

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Map 7 Showing Accessibility to GPs in Royston, Buntingford and Bishop Stortford PCT based on 30 min access time by public transport.

OPTICIANS AND DENTISTS

It was considered a useful exercise to map access to opticians and dentists because they are services which members of the community need to maintain their health. Accession results suggested that 96% and 98% respectively of all people in Hertfordshire could access their nearest optician and dentist by commercial bus or train. This was based on mapping access to 149 opticians and 215 dental surgeries in Hertfordshire from 9am to midday. This did not take demand responsive or community transport into account.

b) Questionnaires:

A questionnaire sent out to a number of residents in Broxbourne confirmed that outpatients access to Chase Farm hospital is unacceptable. For more information on the questionnaire see Appendix 2.

Issue Evidence Access to all individual hospitals not good by commercial public transport, particularly to those in another county

Dialogue with BHSHA suggested that public transport for admissions to acute hospitals is not a priority area as hospital transport can be used. However public transport access for workers and visitors to acute hospitals and Intermediate Care

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or the London area.

Patients using Intermediate Care Facilities may be admitted to facilities in another county due to block booking and this can create access difficulties for visitors (this is anecdotal evidence from a social worker)

Facilities is an issue. Community and diagnostic hospitals are used on an out-patient basis and by residents needing blood tests, consultations, x-rays etc. These are the facilities that tend to be accessed by public transport by the patients.

MORI polls 2004 and 2005 found that access to a local hospital was worse than to any other facility.

Acute hospitals - % of all people in Hertfordshire who can access by bus and train only from 7 – 9am see table above

Community and diagnostic centres - % of all people in Hertfordshire who can access by bus and train only from 7-9am see table above.

Patient choice of hospital means that they may have to travel further, although choice of appointment time may help them access appointments when public transport allows them to.

Hertfordshire County Council has formed strong links with the health sector through partnership working e.g.Beds and Herts Strategic Health Authority, the Primary Care Trusts, NHS Trusts, Herts Health Informatics Service. For new or relocated services, public transport access should be high up on the planning agenda.Information on IIYH has been relayed at themed meetings.

Poor Access to Chase Farm and Barnet hospitals for Broxbourne residents.

Evidence from Accession and a consultative exercise shows has established that over 42% of the residents considered have an unreasonably long journey, with at least one interchange to their nearest hospital.

Rural parts of East and North Herts show particularly poor access to GP surgeries and hospitals

Maps produced by Accession have shown that access to GP surgeries in East and North Herts , i.e. what is currently the Royston, Buntingford and Bishops Stortford Primary Care Trust, is poor (see Accession Map above

About a fifth of households without access to a car had some difficulty accessing doctors.Focus on Personal Travel Including the report of the National Travel Survey 2002/2003, April 2005

Lack of public transport information being distributed to outpatients.

The questionnaire which was sent out as part of the Broxbourne Pilot Study into Access to health services showed that only 5% of patients had been offered public transport information by their local GP or hospital.

OPTION APPRAISAL;

These issues require an appraisal of the options – based on costs, resources available and who is going to take ownership of any action plans. Referring to the table above detailing issues and evidence above, options for actions were considered at the meetings:

Costs – The NHS currently has no funding to lay on additional transport, therefore any improvements to services will need to come from changes to the

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present transport system or by rethinking how more people can access the existing resources. Rerouting present community or demand responsive transport is an option, however changing commercial transport services was considered to be an unlikely option, because there would be no commercial incentive for the operators to do so. Resources – In terms of resources, staff time is limited, and any action plans will need to consider what can be done using existing staff. Money may be available through grants to provide and maintain vehicles, but volunteer drivers are often in short supply. Motivation and willingness to sustain community transport is more likely to come from the community level. The Community Development Agency for Herts has a proven record in successfully bidding for funds and with more support may be able to alleviate many of the transport problems in rural areas.

Lead Partners – From the local audit process it was clearer who would be able to take forward some of the ideas and actions and these are listed below with the action plans:

Action Plans and Lead PartnersTransport Access BoardInvesting in Your Health Transport Access Board set up for ongoing discussions about transport to health facilities. Further mapping will be undertaken as new health services are planned, and PCT areas merged, to ensure that passenger transport is a high priority..HCC Passenger Transport UnitThe PTU has a good knowledge of the areas where commercial routes are not viable and it is likely that DRT and CT are already helping the socially excluded access the health facilities they need. Further consultation with the PTU and the local groups in the identified areas will clarify this and where there is more need, more liaison with the voluntary groups will take place. Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA) for HertsLiaison with the Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA) for Herts will identify what can be achieved for the disadvantaged in their communities at parish level.Transport Access Board with Patient Public Information ForumsInvestigate with health services whether co-ordination between patient appointment times and public/community transport timetables helps accessibility. (For example, it was suggested in a meeting that in future, hospitals that attract more patients e.g. with better public transport, may receive extra funding from the NHS)Ensure that people on concessionary fares and free fares as from April 2006, are able to request later appointments.Barnet /Chase Farm NHS Trust, Broxbourne Borough Council, HCC PTUOngoing negotiations with Broxbourne Borough Council and their Local Strategic Partnership and Barnet & Chase Farm NHS Trust to establish alternative transport provision.

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Research in 2006/7 to see if the doubling in size of Cheshunt Community Hospital will improve access for Broxbourne residents accessing diagnostic appointments.HCC PTU and HITPHealth shuttle covers some of the inaccessible areas. Demand responsive transport and community transport in rural areas will be investigated further.HITP and Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA) for Herts where applicableFurther publicity about transport to health services both commercial and community services, as well as Herts Integrated Transport Partnership to be disseminated in places such as GP surgeries and libraries and also through the Patient Public Information Forums (PPIF). Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA) for Herts to facilitate dissemination of transport information at the parish level, continuing the success of the leaflet that went to all households in the parish of Codicote.

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EDUCATION

9.2.2 Access to EducationUnder the Education Act 2002, it is a requirement of the Local Education Authority to develop a 16-19 transport policy. Children of compulsory school age must attend school and transport is provided by HCC if the eligibility criteria are met. Education, skills and training is one of the most deprived domains in Hertfordshire. Overall education and skills deprivation is clustered around the more urban areas, particularly across the new towns. Education levels are strongly linked to both employment and income. Raising levels of education, skills and training has been identified as a priority by the Investing in Communities Partnership at national, regional and sub regional level.

PARTNERSFrom the beginning of the AP process we consulted with the following groups

Learning and Skills Council Connexions the Local Education Authority Hertfordshire Library Service 16-19 Transport Partnership. (The 16-19 Transport Partnership

consists of Connexions, representatives from the further education colleges, the LSC, PTU and a representative from HASSH (secondary school headteachers)

MEETINGS

The meetings we held were as follows:

Service Stakeholder meetings Schools – primary and secondary

Established April 2005, 4 meetings held 13 and 18 April, and 6

October, general meeting 23 November 2005

FE Colleges Established April 2005, 4 meetings held 13 and 18 April, and 6

October, general meeting 23 November 2005 16-19 Partnership meeting April 2005

EVIDENCE

a) Accession evidence (see also maps in Appendix 6)

Using Accession ,areas of inaccessibility to further education opportunities were modelled, these were based on using buses and trains only from 7-9am on a Monday morning, the modelling used the maximum time travelled as 60 mins, Where the inaccessible areas coincided with:

a) Wards with more than the national average % of 16-19 year olds (5%) These wards were:

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Hoo Ward, Thundridge and Standon Ward, Hertford Heath Ward, Brookmans Park and Little Heath Ward and Aldenham West Ward.

b) The worst 50% SOAs in the English Ranking – these are listed in Appendix 7. (Settlements near Flamstead End, Perry Green, Ridge, Essendon)

Accession results based on access to specific colleges: as can be seen below the most accessible site is the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, followed by St Albans City Campus. This is because both are based in the centre of the County and enjoy good access by train and commercial bus service, for students coming from north, south, east and west.. The least accessible college is the Northgate Centre in Bishop’s Stortford, this is because it is at the east edge of the County and is obviously a long journey for people living towards the West.

% accessibility to the following FE colleges

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

% a

cces

sibi

lity

by p

ublic

tran

spor

t

% of 16-17% of 18-19

b) Other reports

The following report was also very useful ion the local audit:

Perceptions of Herts learning institutions from student, parental and local employer perspectives, (2002) by Bostock Marketing Group Ltd prepared for Learning and Skills Council Hertfordshire.

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Why did students choose their present college?

Sample base = 200, multiple response

Other relevant evidence from this report follows:

Overwhelmingly, students chose to attend their present college for the particular course or programme it offered and because it is close to where the student lived or worked.

In most people’s eyes, colleges’ reputations are a secondary consideration. What really matters above all is, ‘can I get to the college easily, as I have to attend frequently’. For adult learners and those studying part-time, the practical problems of sustained attendance are self-evident – and, usually, must be co-ordinated with home, family and work. (i.e. ‘pram pushing distance’)

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The research suggests that ‘outreach’ could be a key strategy. Traditionally, this means taking education and learning out into communities, via adult learning centres and the like. It could also mean establishing links with places and organisations that potential learners use or visit for other purposes (e.g. pre-school units and schools). However, some of the more unorthodox ‘outreach’ projects tried elsewhere (e.g. learning in pubs, clubs and supermarkets) might offer valuable lessons on what does, and does not, work.

The research shows clearly that ‘improving accessibility’ could mean prosaic measures, such as easier parking and better public transport (perhaps even some kind of college park & ride scheme). Minor adjustments to the timing of courses might also ease the problems faced by family or working learners.

Education Issue EvidenceAccess to and participation in education and training for 14-19 year olds in Hertfordshire is ‘unsatisfactory’.

When choosing an learning institution for their children, parents place its accessibility, reputation and proximity above all other considerations.

In most people’s eyes, colleges’ reputations are a secondary consideration. What really matters above all is, ‘can I get to the college easily, as I have to attend frequently’

Ofsted report May 2005 - (Adult Learning Inspectorate & Office for Standards in Education – Inspection report Hertfordshire 14-19 Area Inspection 23-27 May 2005).

LSC and Herts CSF 14-19 Strategy for Herts – Putting the Learner First. 2005

Perceptions of Herts learning institutions from student, parental and local employer perspectives (2002)

Hertfordshire is one of the most education, skills and training deprived domains in Herts, although no areas are in the most deprived 10% across the country, 40 (5.9%) are in the most deprived 20%.(OCSI Mapping deprivation across Herts)

Pockets of inaccessibility in rural areas of north and east Herts resulting in young people unable to access for example FE opportunities, sports events, performing arts activities and other out of school hours events

Out of School Hours Transport Needs Study - commissioned by Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA) Herts on behalf of the Rural Youth Partnership and undertaken by PBA in September 2005.

Accession MapsLack of transport

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information; this emerged as an issue when young people are deciding which post 16 course to study.

Research commissioned by Hertfordshire 16-19 Transport Partnership:- ‘On the Move’ survey (2003)- ‘Which Way’ survey (2005)

Effects of Schools White Paper on school admissions criteria if the proposals are carried forward.

Higher Standards, Better Schools for all – more choice for parents and pupils, Department for Education and Skills, October 2005 CM 6677.

Access to adult education for people without a car is also poor, especially in North and East Herts

Accession Map

Adult Basic Skills in The East of England (2002).Accession MapGovernment Skills for Life Strategy estimates that around 7 million adults in England cannot read or write at the level expected of an 11 year old. This is around 1 in 5 adults. (Adults are defined as people aged 16+)

Access to suitable curriculum varies between schools and in different areas.

Strategic Area Review (STaR) and Area Wide Inspection Report.This corresponds to the concern about access to ‘choice’ of courses for students.

Access to FE colleges in rural areas and many other pockets. The worst 50% SOAs in the English Ranking eg Flamstead End, Perry Green area, Ridge over 60 minutes by public transport.

Accession Maps

OPTION APPRAISAL

Referring to the table above detailing issues and evidence, options were considered

Costs – The County Council currently has a legal responsibility to fund the costs for certain children of school to home transport, subsidised fares are also available for young people aged from 16 to 19. The new Education White Paper also recognises that access to education is important. For example it quotes that ‘we will legislate to extend the powers of the Learning and Skills Council to provide home to school and college transport for students between the ages of 16 and 19.’ and ‘we will legislate to require local authorities to provide free transport for disadvantaged pupils …’ Therefore unlike access to health services where ownership of the transport problem is unclear, local authorities have a clear remit to help children of compulsory school age access education. However the costs of providing free

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transport and subsidising transport for others is substantial and the Council has a duty to do this in the most cost efficient and beneficial way.

Resources – In terms of resources, staff time is always limited, and any action plans will need to consider what can be done by making the best use of staff time

Lead Partners – From the local audit process it was clearer who would be able to take forward some of the issues and these are listed below with the action plans:

Action plans emerging from the above process were as follows:

Education Action Plan and Lead PartnersLearning Skills Council, HCC will be working closely with the education theme partnership to identify how access can be improved to satisfactory in the next Ofsted Report. ‘Access’ does not necessarily relate to lack of transport, but to the fact that certain courses are not accessible to all people in Hertfordshire, including disabled people. Therefore the solution does not rely on providing transport to different colleges, but rather to bring the curriculum to those that need it.

Actions which are currently making headway to make schools more accessible by sustainable modes are the use of School Travel Plans. Other related projects are Safer Routes to School and LEARNHerts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA )for Herts, Rural Youth Partnership The Out of School Hours Transport Study recommendations are very relevant: ideas for action plans included: more consultation with young people to better address their needs, more consultation with public transport providers, better marketing of existing public transport, better promotion – e.g. make using public transport less ‘uncool’, i.e. improve it’s image to young people. Investigate car sharing, taxi sharing.Two Wheels Scooter/Cycle Project relevant here.16-19 Transport Partnership,LSC Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA)for Herts More transport information should be made available to young adults at the choice stage of their lives. Colleges should consider using Green Travel Plans and having a travel co-ordinator role. 2 wheels project information to be disseminated to students.HCC – Passenger Transport Unit and School Admissions Team.Close monitoring of the proposals of the Education White Paper and the implications on accessibility planning.Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA) for Herts/ CAB/

Mobile libraries, other outreach services, e-learning all offer opportunities to those in rural areas.

A project proposal to provide rural communities in North Herts and

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Dacorum with outreach services to offer benefit and money advice in 6 villages from 2006/7.

A further project under the Rural Social Community Programme will aim to improve or establish electronic mail communication with Parish/Town Councils in Herts, one of its aims being to set up an information point within the communities.

IiC PartnershipIncrease learning provision at a local & accessible neighbourhood levelCommunity based IAGBite size / taster sessions for specific target groupsEducation schemes / bursaries for young people in education – especially to address barriers e.g. transport, childcareHCC PTU and Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA)for HertsInvestigate how Community Transport and Demand Responsive Transport are currently responding to needs of socially excluded. Investigate car sharing, taxi sharing, Two Wheels Scooter/Cycle Project relevant here. Other ideas are good neighbourhood schemes and close involvement of the Change Up Consortium (made up of voluntary sector including Council for Voluntary Services).

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WORK

9.2.3 Access to WorkMedium to large employers were used as the destination data for the mapping exercise. This means places of work where there are 50 employees or more.

PARTNERSPartners involved in the consultation and action planning exercise included Job Centre Plus, In2Work, Travelwise, Business Link, Exemplas, Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA)for Herts

MEETINGSMeetings with the group were as listed below.

Service Stakeholder meetings Work Established April 2005

1 meetings since April on August 9th and a general meeting on 23 November .

EVIDENCEEvidence which arose from the consultation and mapping exercises were as follows:

a) Work Questionnaire Results.

We sent a questionnaire to 100 inaccessible medium to large employers which Accession calculated as being the least accessible. From these 100 questionnaires, 21 were returned. The results were as follows:

57% described themselves as situated out of town, 24% on the edge of town, and 19% in the town centre.

The average number of employees per workplace was 68 people. Only one of the 21 companies (a hotel) was open 24 hours a day. The

working day for the others varied between 8am to 6pm. 50% of the companies were able to be flexible with their start/finish

times. The majority of the employers had a staff park and car parking was not

an issue with most of them. Of the 21 companies, 38% said that they had difficulty retaining or

recruiting staff which could be directly related to public transport issues. The main issues that were indicated were infrequency of public transport (11) no train station or bus stop nearby (10), travelling time (8) and cost (7).

None of the employers had a member of staff whose role included being a travel adviser. Only 2 companies asked an employer at his or her exit interview whether transportation was an issue. 99% of the employees accessed work by car, and one company reported that they all walked to work.

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5% had a travel plan, 80% did not have a travel plan and 15% did not know what a travel plan was.

19% displayed or provided public transport information in the workplace, 30% provided public transport information to people at recruitment stage and 70% did not.

b) Other reports that were used in the local assessment were: Hardest to Help Mapping, Job Centre Plus September 2004. Investing in Communities business plan by Exemplas written for EEDA

Work Issue EvidenceThere are few places of work in the rural areas of North and East Herts.There are also villages in Herts with no public transport access to work opportunities; this is an issue for people on jobseekers allowance and income support. In pockets of Herts there are employers with no access by public transport.

Accession Maps and accession results

Questionnaire sent out to a selection of employers

Numbers of people on job seekers allowance and income support as mapped by report prepared for Jobcentre Plus – Hardest to Help Mapping, September 2004.

Investing in Communities business plan by Exemplas written for EEDA investigates economic deprivation in Herts

Access to work opportunities for disadvantaged people without a car can be very poor in the non-peak time e.g. 4am to 7am (shift workers), or in the evenings

Hertfordshire has many opportunities for shift working e.g. London Luton and Stansted airports, 24 hour out of town shopping centres and hospitals, however Job Centre Plus reported that many of these employers find it difficult to recruit or retain employees.

Questionnaire sent out to a selection of employees

Accession Maps There are areas in Hertfordshire that are high in the Hertfordshire ranking for deprivation.

Mapping Deprivation across Hertfordshire by Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion lists deprived wards by income domain.

Investing in Communities report by Exemplas for EEDA investigates economic deprivation in Herts

Numbers of people on job seekers allowance and income support as mapped by report prepared for Jobcentre Plus – Hardest to Help Mapping, September 2004.

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OPTION APPRAISAL

Referring to the table above detailing issues and evidence, options were considered

Costs – Costs for accessing work is usually seen as the responsibility of the employee, however there are many people on job seekers allowance, or on low pay who cannot afford to take up employment if access is too costly. Jobcentre Plus can help in some ways towards initial costs for those on Jobseekers Allowance, however only until the individual is in a position to start paying for the costs themselves. In rural areas, regular commercial bus services are often not viable and therefore rerouting present community or demand responsive transport is an option. Resources – Motivation and willingness to sustain community transport is more likely to come from the community level. The Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA) for Herts has a proven record in successfully bidding for funds and with more support may be able to alleviate many of the transport problems in rural areas. Much of the solution could lie with the employers, especially those who find it difficult to recruit and retain staff. By creative thinking some of the problems can be resolved, for example by car sharing, taxi sharing, flexible hours, using business travel plans.

Lead Partners – From the local audit process it was clearer who would be able to take forward some of the ideas and actions and these are listed below with the action plans:

Action Plans and Lead PartnersBusiness Travelwise, Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA)for HertsThe work partnership will consider instigating car sharing, taxi sharing, travel plans, travel co-ordinators in places of work with low accessibility. IiC PartnershipBusiness and Social Enterprise Development

Targeted at the needs of economically excluded groups Tackling economic and social exclusion in innovative & locally based

ways Encouraging entrepreneurship and enterprise

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Private investment – building closer links with the VCS Encouraging the business sector to be actively engaged with the local

community to mutual benefitJob Centre PlusContinue investigating how socially excluded can be helped to access work opportunities through grants etc.

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9.2.4 Access to food shops

EVIDENCE

a) Accession (see maps in Appendix 6) Large supermarkets in Herts have been mapped, and pockets of inaccessibility in the following low IMD areas identified - near Flamstead End, Bushey North, Perry Green area, part of Ridge, part of Essendon,

HCC has collated data of locations of small food shops in each of the districts; by mapping these it can be established whether people in urban and rural areas have access to basic food requirements such as five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. Lack of access to food shopping has been described as a social issue, unfortunately the demise of the village shop has not helped, and on-line shopping may also hasten the closure of small shops. Research in North America shows that residential properties have to be very high to allow local convenience stores to be viable if reliant upon walking trips, this is because nearly everyone but those that are unable to, will continue to drive to a larger store for their main shopping.

Comparing the proportion of households who use cars for main food shopping (76%) with the proportion of households with the use of a car (74%) suggests that almost all families who have a car use it for this purpose.

Food shopping Issue EvidenceInaccessibility to large supermarkets in the following areas with IMD in lowest English 50% :

- near Flamstead End- Bushey North- Perry Green Area- Part of Ridge- Part of Essendon

Also large rural areas in North and East Herts

Accession Map

Hertfordshire’s Rural communities – Thirty years on revealed a significant decline in the number of village shops.

About a fifth of households without access to a car had some difficulty accessing supermarkets Focus on Personal Travel Including the report of the National Travel Survey 2002/2003, April 2005

65% of households ordered goods by post, phone or on the Internet. Households with cars were much more likely to do so than those without a car as these households tend to be wealthier and order more goods. (Focus on Personal Travel 2005)

Action Plans and Lead PartnerHCC HCC will map the smaller food shops, the lists are available from the EHO’s in each district. From the 10 district maps it can then be seen at village level where socially excluded communities are unable to access food shopping.Provision of meals on wheels to people in rural areas also to be investigated..

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10. ACTION PLANS

This is a summary of Section 9, in which issues, evidence and action plans were laid out in a top down approach.

Health Action Plans, lead partners Time PeriodH1.Transport Access Board with HCCFurther mapping to be undertaken as new health facilities are developed, to facilitate access by public transport.

Ongoing – for the length of the LTP2

H2.HCC Passenger Transport Unit and HITPConsultation with local groups, in priority areas will clarify if all disadvantaged groups have access to some form of transport if they need to reach key services.

April 2006-March 2007

H3.Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA) Herts. Liaison with the HRTP and CDA will identify what is happening at parish level.

July 2006-March 2007

H4.Transport Access Board/Patient Public Information Forums Investigate with health services whether co-ordination between patient appointment times and public/community transport timetables helps accessibility. Ensure that people on concessionary fares and free fares as from April 2006, are able to request later appointments.

April 2006 – March 2008

H5.Barnet /Chase Farm NHS Trust, Broxbourne Borough Council, HCC PTUOngoing negotiations with Broxbourne Borough Council and their Local Strategic Partnership and Barnet & Chase Farm NHS Trust to establish alternative transport provision.

Research in 2006/7 to see if the doubling in size of Cheshunt Community Hospital will improve access for residents accessing diagnostic appointments.


H6HITP and Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development


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Agency (CDA) Herts where applicable.Publicity about transport to health services both commercial and community services, as well as Herts Integrated Transport Partnership to be disseminated in places such as GP surgeries and libraries and also through the Patient Public Information Forums (PPIF). Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA) Herts to facilitate dissemination of transport information at the parish level, continuing the success of the leaflet that went to all households in the parish of Codicote.

Education Action Plans, lead partners

Time Period

E1.Learning Skills CouncilHCC will be working closely with the education theme partnership to identify how access can be improved to ‘satisfactory’ in the next Ofsted Report.


E2.Community Development Agency, Herts Rural Transport Partnership and 16-19 Transport PartnershipThe Out of School Hours Transport Study recommendations are very relevant: ideas for action plans included: more consultation with young people to better address their needs, more consultation with public transport providers, better marketing of existing public transport, better promotion – e.g. make using public transport less ‘uncool’, i.e. improve it’s image to young people. Investigate car sharing, taxi sharing. Two wheels scooter/cycle project relevant here.


E3.16-19 Transport Partnership,LSC, Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA) Herts, More transport information to be made available to young adults at the choice


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stage of their lives. Colleges should consider using Green Travel Plans and having a travel co-ordinator role, Two wheels scooter/cycle project – more information to be disseminated to the students.

E4.HCC – Passenger Transport Unit and School Admissions Team.Close monitoring of the proposals of the Education White Paper and the implications on accessibility planning.

Ongoing – medium to low priority as it will take a while for government proposals to come into force if white paper is accepted.

E5.Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA) Herts / CABMobile libraries, other outreach services, e-learning all offer opportunities to those in rural areas, this will be investigated as a route to disseminating educational information to adults.

April 2007- March 2008

E6. Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA) Herts / Citizens Advice BureauProject proposal to provide rural communities in North Herts and Dacorum with outreach services to offer benefit and money advice in 6 villages from 2006/7.

April 2006-March 2007 (subject to acceptance of bid)

E7.Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA) Herts / Citizens Advice BureauA project under the Rural Social Community Programme will aim to improve or establish electronic mail communication with Parish/Town Councils in Herts, one of its aims being to set up an information point within the communities.

April 2006-March 2007 (subject to acceptance of bid)

E8.IiC PartnershipIncrease learning provision at a local & accessible neighbourhood levelCommunity based Information Advice and Guidance. (IAG)Bite size / taster sessions for specific target groupsEducation schemes / bursaries for young people in education – especially to

April 2006?-? (dependent on acceptance of IiC business plan by EEDA)

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address barriers eg transport, childcareE9.HCC PTU and Herts Rural Transport Partnership; Community Development Agency (CDA) HertsInvestigate how Community Transport and Demand Responsive Transport are currently responding to needs of socially excluded. Investigate car sharing, taxi sharing, Two Wheels Scooter/Cycle Project relevant here. Other ideas are good neighbourhood schemes and close involvement of the Change Up Consortium (made up of voluntary sector including Council for Voluntary Services).

April 2006–March 2007

Work Action Plans, lead partners Time period W1.Business Travelwise, Herts Rural Transport Partnership and Community Development Association, Jobcentre Plus.The work partnership will consider instigating Wheels to Work, car sharing, taxi sharing, green travel plans, travel co-ordinators in places of work with low accessibility. Village travel plans are also another way of improving access, CDA can facilitate this. Use Accession to improve recruitment strategy for some jobs, for example target those who are able to get to the workplace, rather than those without a car who are unable to.


W2. IiC PartnershipBusiness and Social Enterprise Development

Targeted at the needs of economically excluded groups

Tackling economic and social exclusion in innovative & locally based ways

Encouraging entrepreneurship and enterprise

Corporate Social Responsibility Private investment – building closer links with the Voluntary and Community Sector.Encouraging the business sector to be actively engaged with the local community

April 2006?-? (dependent on acceptance of business plan by EEDA)

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to mutual benefitW3Job Centre PlusContinue investigating how socially excluded can be helped to access work opportunities through grants etc.

Ongoing

Food Shopping Action Plans and Lead Partner

Time Period

F1HCC Smaller food shops (from EHO’S) will be mapped in the 10 districts, from this it can be seen at village level where socially excluded communities are unable to access food shopping.Investigate the provision of meals on wheels to people in rural areas.


General Action Plans & Lead Partner

Time Period

G1HCCAudit other facilities - libraries, specialist hospitals, other food outlets, rural tourist facilities, pharmacists, mental health faciities, farmers markets, post office, smaller shops.

October 2007 – March 2008

G2 HCC/District CouncilsLiaise with districts re question 3b of the Local Development Framework

July 06 - March 2011

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11. INDICATORS, TARGETS AND MONITORING

The Council’s performance is evaluated by locally set outcome indicators. and nationally by DfT core indicators.

11.1 Local Accessibility Indicators

1. The key service that is the least accessible in Hertfordshire is the hospital. Although all people do not need to access hospital on a regular basis, (statistics show that there are the same number of outpatient trips per year as there are people in the community), the disadvantaged in the community are the ones who suffer most if they cannot access outpatients services. It is for this reason that we have chosen to use annual results from the MORI poll to monitor the difficulty of accessing key services including access to hospital.

The MORI poll also measures people’s perceptions of difficulty of accessing other key services: corner shops, supermarkets, doctors, and parks & leisure. Baseline data below starts at year 2004.

HCC will measure the outcomes of the indicators and targets contained within this annual MORI survey.

From where you live, how easy is it for you to get to the following using your usual from of transport? % difficulty

CORNER SHOP

SUPERMARKET DOCTOR LOCAL HOSPITAL

PARKS AND LEISURE

2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004% difficulty

6 7 7 7 8 8 29 34 7 8

2. The second indicator that the county will use will be based on question 3b of the Local Development Framework about access to new developments. Each of the 10 districts in Herts needs to complete the following for the Annual Monitoring Report:

Q3b – Amount of new residential development within 30 minutes public transport time of: a GP, a hospital, a primary school, a secondary school, areas of employment, and a major retail centre.

The 10 responses from each of the districts will be amalgamated to form a one indicator to represent how the county is responding to the need to build accessibility into new developments.

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12. Summary

Undertaking an accessibility audit in Herts has been a difficult task because maps have shown that disadvantaged people of all kinds are spread throughout the county and officially deprived areas are predominantly urban and in accessible areas. The issue for Herts is not a lack of transport to services but of cost and ease. Much of the action plans relate to services which are thinly distributed across the county, i.e. FE and hospitals and it is envisaged that either by bringing the facilities to the community or ensuring that community transport or demand responsive transport fill the gaps in provision, where commercial services would not be viable.

The main points are:

Herts is, overall, an affluent county.

Areas of inaccessibility in terms of time, predominantly coincide with rural areas where there is little no official deprivation

Areas of deprivation are predominantly in urban areas where accessibility is satisfactory in terms of time, although possibly not satisfactory in terms of cost and ease for people on low incomes and for disabled people.

There are concentrations of people throughout Herts, although not in the same wards, who are over 65, in-between 16 and 19, on Job Seekers Allowance, Income Support and who do not own a car. These groups could be described as socially disadvantaged, and in many instances, particularly in rural areas these are the people who may experience difficulty accessing key services.

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Appendix 1: Relevant strategies

Strategy Objectives2000-6 Economic Development Strategy – Herts Prosperity Forum

To create a learning environment for all

To develop a business friendly environment (and actively promote economic growth in selected activities)

To strike a balance between the built and natural environment

To promote social inclusion

Adult Care Services – Transport Strategy

To be agreed by panel in Feb 2006

Bus Strategy 2006/07 – 2010/11 Maintain a network of services similar to the present that meets local needs

Integrate home to school transport to ensure core rural bus network is cost effective

Investigate demand responsive schemes where demand is low and where the pattern of demand is suitable for this approach

Support other community schemes where conventional bus services are not justified

The County Council will work with District and Borough Councils and voluntary organisations to supplement Dial-a-Ride with local schemes. It will identify funding and bidding opportunities to develop existing schemes and promote new initiatives

An Integrated Crime, Disorder and Drugs Strategy for Hertfordshire 2005 – 06

Building community confidence through less fear and anxiety

Hertfordshire Forward – a community strategy for Hertfordshire

Building a prosperous inclusive society

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Maintaining a sustainable environment

Investing in communities – Hertfordshire

To improve economic performance in deprived areas;To improve the employment opportunities of disadvantaged groups;To address social exclusion and inequalities;To increase opportunities for learning and skills;

Local Transport Plan To develop a transport system that provides access to employment, shopping, education, leisure and health facilities for all, including those without a car and those with impaired mobility.

To ensure that the transport system contributes towards improving the efficiency of commerce and industry and the provision of sustainable economic development in appropriate locations.

Making the Connections Widening travel horizons Make streets and stations

safer Make travel more affordable Reduce the need to travel

Public Library Measures Promoting the economic vitality of localitiesPromoting healthier communities and narrowing health inequalitiesImproving the quality of life for children, young people, families at risk and older peopleRaising standards across schoolsSafer & stronger communities

Putting the Learner FirstThe 14-19 Strategy for Hertfordshire (Learning Skills Council & HCC)

We will work with providers to identify the patterns of travel tolearn and make proposals for consultation about future transportarrangements for the 14-19 phase.

Regional Economic Strategy Ensure the provision of social and transport infrastructure

Support those who are

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disadvantaged to achieve their potential

Supporting disadvantaged groups to access sustainable employment opportunities

Providing improved access to essential services.

Regional Transport Strategy Improve opportunities for all to access jobs, services and leisure/tourist facilities

Valuing People A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century

As young people with learning disabilities move into adulthood, to ensure continuity of care and support for the young person and their family and to provide equality of opportunity in order to enable as many disabled young people as possible to participate in education, training or employment.

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Appendix 2. Related Projects

A. Broxbourne Pilot Study

HCC undertook a pilot study to identify and develop solutions to access to healthcare in the Broxbourne area. The following data has been analysed: Data from the 2001Census, the Indices of Multiple Deprivation and claimant figures from the DWP. The Council has found out in which wards access to health services is adversely affected for disabled and socially excluded and where there are poor transport links.Locations of hospitals, dentists, GPs, pharmacists, optometrists and clinics have also been plotted on GIS. Results so far show that on the whole, health facilities are located along the route of the A1170 (the Hertford Road), as are bus routes. Roughly 90% of residents live within 400m of a bus route, Hospitals are currently the most inaccessible service with 42% of outpatients, particularly those residing in the south of the Borough, being referred to Chase Farm Hospital. The journey to Chase Farm is difficult for many, with no direct bus route. However the situation may change for the better when Cheshunt Community Hospital is enlarged and more outpatients are referred there for diagnostic tests.

In January 2005, the Broxbourne Voluntary Sector Development Agency sent out 150 questionnaires to a cross section of voluntary groups representing disadvantaged groups in the district of Broxbourne. 64 of the forms were returned, 25% were from males, 75% from females, 92% of the respondents were aged over 60 and 43% had mobility problems. Results were as follows:

42% of the population attended Chase Farm Hospital across the boundary in London,

How respondents travelled to their hospital appointments was as follows?, car as driver – 15%, car as passenger – 24%, taxi – 17%, bus/train – 25%, walk – 6%, hospital transport – 7%, Red Cross – 6%.

13% said they had missed a hospital appointment because of transport difficulties.

Average cost of £20.00 for taxi fare. Time taken to get to all hospital appointments (including those not

using public transport) – under 30 mins – 39%, 31-60 mins – 30%, over an hour – 31%.

Have GP surgeries offered information on alternative ways to travel to hospital. 5% said yes, 95% said no.

Comments included:

Very difficult for me to get in and out of a car so I need a bus with a lift. If I order a dial-a-ride to get there, I don’t know what time to tell them to

return. I get very cold waiting for buses. Feel nervous of falling if bus starts

moving before I am seated. I have found the 242 route irregular, sometimes late and on two

occasions missed out altogether meaning a wait of one hour.

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I have to get a bus before the one I need as buses only run every half an hour and if one doesn’t run I am late.

Only pharmacy open on 27th December was Tesco’s Brookfield Farm which was gridlocked due to sales, could only reach it by foot or by Helicopter.

B. Hertfordshire Integrated Transport Partnership

The Hertfordshire Integrated Transport Partnership - comprises more than 60 organisations committed to improving transport for thousands of Hertfordshire people.

Over the next three years the Hertfordshire Integrated Transport Partnership (HITP) will be working to improve access to information and transport services for users of education, health and social services by establishing a single point of access to allow them to choose and, where appropriate, book suitable transport for their individual needs.

C. The Lister Project

This is a Herts Integrated Transport Partnership(HITP ) project funded through a DfT rural transport grant via the HCC Environment Dept. It provides transport to and from the Lister Hospital through the rural catchment target areas to the North and East of Stevenage and has now been underway for 6 weeks. Transport to and from the hospital is availabe at a flat rate cost for visitors, staff and patients either by prior booking or at the reception desk within the hospital. The peripheral urban areas of Hitchin, Baldock and Letchworth as well as the rural areas are also included in the project. This project is currently being used by 10% staff, 30% visitors and the rest are patients. The transport runs from 7.30 am to 8 pm at night, with variable times at weekends. The service liaises with certain clinics and works closely with the NHS trust. Advantages of the scheme include

taking pressure off roads and car parks. potential to greatly reduce dna’s (did not attends) and therefore costs

to the NHS. relieves the pressure on the Bed Herts Ambulance service which may

be transporting inappropriate clients. relieves the pressure on GP surgeries to organise transport for

patients.

D. AUNT SUE, The Accessible User Needs in Transport, Sustainable Urban Environment

Hertfordshire is involved in a research project with University College London and other universities looking at all aspects of transport accessibility needs. Hertfordshire will be used as a test bed for all aspects of the research, but in particular the County Council is actively involved in the work package which is looking at the development of tools for increasing social inclusion in transport

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planning policies. There are clear links between the research project and the accessibility planning process.

E. Hertfordshire Rural Transport Partnership,Community Development Agency (CDA) for HertsAims to support residents and organisations in rural areas, including country and market towns, in Hertfordshire to improve the range of sustainable transport, travel and accessibility serving the community in accordance with SLA partners (Hertfordshire County Council, EEDA, Community Development Agency (CDA) for Herts) and other partnership projects within.The partnership responds to consultation at both local, regional and national level and is a proactive member on strategy groups and steering groups.The partnership researches, identifies needs and develops, pools together funding/resources and delivers projects with partners with particular emphasis on social inclusion and environmentally sustainable projectsThe partnership promotes and assists in the development of community based transport solutions, based on local research and rural transport and access strategies that improve access to services and facilities into the countryside..The following five projects (F-K) are partnership projects, funded and steered by different partners and led by CDA.

F. Roundabout Transport (South West Hertfordshire Community Transport) Roundabout Transport now runs eight minibuses, all with wheelchair access. The scheme provides minibuses to community groups in a large catchment area which covers the three districts/boroughs of Hertsmere, Three Rivers and Watford, including Watford rural.. Charges for use are kept low, to make them affordable to a wide range of groups with impaired mobility.Research, surveys, consultation and development work was undertaken by Roundabout Transport which found evidence of gaps in flexible transport provision. This led to Roundabout being set up to provide minibus transport services to those community groups which would otherwise find obtaining transport problematic

G. Hertfordshire Rural Youth PartnershipPartners: Hertfordshire Rural Transport Partnership, Community Development Agency (CDA) for Herts, Hertfordshire Association for Young People, Herts Young Homeless Group, Connexions, 16-19 Transport Partnership, North Herts CollegeThe Hertfordshire Rural Youth Partnership has been working to address exclusion issues for young people in rural area of Hertfordshire since 2003.It has considerable success in raising the awareness of a range of issues, including access and transport.

I. Out Of School Hours Transport Needs StudyHertfordshire Rural Transport Partnership, Community Development Agency (CDA) for Herts commissioned study by Peter Brett Associates (PBA) on behalf of the Rural Youth Partnership

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The primary objective of this study is to identify and assess the travel needs of 11 – 19 year olds living in two rural catchments of East and North Hertfordshire, audit current after school and evening transport provision and make recommendations for improvements.The study involved the identification of existing travel options, an assessment of the existing and possible future demand, as well as also identifying non transport issues that could pose barriers to increasing accessibility.Through this process the Rural Youth Partnership and its partner organisations can develop policies and measures that can improve access to facilities for this particular age group and, therefore, improve the quality of lives through greater opportunities for social interaction, sport, entertainment and further education

J. Two Wheels Scooter / Cycle project

This project has been set up to help predominantly young unemployed and disadvantaged groups from rural areas to access job opportunities, training and education where there is no alternative mode of transport available. Without suitable public transport and no car of their own, some young people are not able to get to a job or training. Without a job, or the skills to secure a job in the future, they cannot afford the means to get around. The Two Wheels project provides a short term solution to break this cycle, so that young people can secure employment or the skills they need and be able to finance their own long term transport if required. Provision of safety equipment and training is a vital element of the scheme to ensure the young people are provided with the skills to ride safely.

The project builds on the knowledge gained from existing schemes (approx. 40) in operation throughout England. It has been developed and led by North Herts. District Council, Herts. Rural Transport Partnership and Community Development Agency for Herts. The project started in October 2005 with management and ongoing development provided via a steering group made up of a number of partners.

The loan scheme is offered to rural young people living in the 33 rural parishes of North Hertfordshire. It is expected that 40 people will have been given access to employment and/or training opportunities within 12 months of the scheme becoming operational.

Other than the obvious benefits of accessing employment, education and training opportunities, the scheme can also help young people to retain employment or training placements, provide greater independence and improved social skills, lead to increased confidence and self-esteem, higher levels of responsibility and improved road awareness and road skills.

The scheme can also help a number of organisations and agencies to meet their objectives and targets, such as contributing to Connexion’s NEET targets or reducing the drop-out rates for 16+ education.

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The financial benefits provide by the scheme can be significant. By securing employment, a previously unemployed young person can become a contributor towards the economy rather than a drain, this can provide a reduction in benefits paid of over £6391 per month.

1 Figures taken from the Steer Davies Gleave report “Evaluation of Wheels to work schemes” April 2005.

K. Sustainable Transport PartnershipThe Hertfordshire Sustainable Transport Partnership exists to increase the opportunities for and take-up of green travel for leisure and access to the countryside, and to local services/business (e.g. stations) in and around Hertfordshire. The partnership is investigating the possibilities of Demand Responsive Transport (DRT), Community Transport, taxi/voucher/car share schemes and locally targeted marketing to change attitudes. The partnership intends to build on promotion already undertaken by the partnership, particularly walking and cycling and areas of potential tourism and economic benefits

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Appendix 3. Consultation Groups

Partnerships at strategic level have been established with representatives from the key services, these include:

Voluntary groups and NGOs (involved in all groups)WRVS Community Car ServiceDacorum CVS Community WheelsSt Albans CVSNorth Herts CVS LtdBushey and Oxhey Voluntary Care SchemeRoyston District Community TransportHertfordshire Action on DisabilityHertfordshire Association of Parish & Town CouncilsHertfordshire Rural Transport PartnershipCommunity Development AssociationBritish Red CrossDISH – Disability Information Service for HertsBroxbourne Voluntary Sector Development AgencyPPIF – Patient and Public Involvement ForumLocal Government (involved in all groups)Transport Commissioning and Planning Manager, Adult Care ServicesCommunity Strategy Officers for each districtPassenger Transport UnitOfficers from each of the 10 Districts in HertsChildren, Schools and Families UnitAdult Care ServicesTravelwiseRoad Safety UnitEducation theme groupHertfordshire ConnexionsLearning Skills CouncilHertford Regional CollegeNorth Herts CollegeWest Herts CollegeOaklands CollegeSchool Travel Plan Co-ordinator16-19 Transport PartnershipEqualities Development LibrarianHealth theme groupHerts Partnership NHS TrustBeds and Herts Strategic Health AuthorityBeds and Herts Ambulance and Paramedic ServiceWest Herts NHS TrustLister Rural Transport ProjectEast and North Herts NHS TrustHerts Integrated Transport Project (also involved with work theme)Beds Heartlands PCTIIYH Transport & Access ProjectBedford Hospital NHS Trust

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SE Herts PCTNorth Herts and Stevenage PCTWork theme groupJobcentre PlusBusiness LinkIn2WorkTravelwise Co-ordinator

Meetings held so far are detailed below:

01 April 2004 Broxbourne Pilot Study - management meeting19 July 2004 Broxbourne Pilot Study - management meeting17 August 2004 Broxbourne Pilot Study - management meeting25 August 2004 Regional Accessibility Planning Meeting10 September 2004

Meeting with Hertfordshire Health Informatics Service re outpatient and inpatient figures for Broxbourne

23 September 2004

Broxbourne Transport Forum, Emmanuel Lodge, Broxbourne

24 September 2004

Access to Health Care - Broxbourne Pilot Study- stakeholders meeting, SE Herts Primary Care Trust

30 September 2004

Borough of Broxbourne - Services for Older People User Group Meeting, Wormley Court, Broxbourne

13 October 2004Broxbourne LSP meeting – Broxbourne Borough Offices

16 November 2004 Broxbourne Questionnaire meeting with stakeholders26 November 2004 Regional Accessibility Planning Meeting, County Hall

27 November 2004Planning for Real - Questionnaire on Access to Health given out at Stevenage Leisure Centre

29 November 2004Broxbourne Voluntary Sector Forum – Hoddesdon Methodist Church

30 November 2004Accessibility Planning Workshop with other Local Authorities, Cambridge GO East

06 January 2005 Jobcentre Plus07 January 2005 Beds and Herts Strategic Health Authority

03 February 2005Accessibility Planning Meeting with internal staff + AUNT SUE researchers

07 February 2005Accessibility Planning Meeting with external stakeholders

07 March 2005 Regional Accessibility Planning Meeting

04 April 2005Accessibility Planning Meeting with internal/district stakeholders

11 April 2005Accessibility Planning Meeting with external stakeholders

13 April 2005 16-19 Partnership meeting 18 May 2005 Education theme meeting20 May 2005 Health theme meeting25 May 2005 Regional Accessibility Planning Meeting7 July 2005 SE Herts PCT13 July 2005 Broxbourne LSP meeting

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9 August 2005 Work Theme meeting12 Sep 2005 Health Theme meeting13 Sep 2005 Meeting with Job Centre Plus managers14 Sep 2005 Meeting with all the district CSOs6 Oct 2005 Education theme meeting23 November 2005 All stakeholder meeting

Future meetings in the early 2006 at which the council will listen to the concerns of people from disadvantaged groups and their transport issues, include a senior citizens forum event at Watford, and the Hertfordshire Disability Awareness Week., both in Spring 2006. There are also regular meetings with the Transport issues for disabled people group, and regular liaison with the Herts Rural Transport Partnership who represent rural interests.

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Appendix 4. Supporting Statements

Joint Statement for Government Office East of England AuthoritiesThe local authorities within the East Region have developed a co-ordinated approach to accessibility planning through the establishment of a regional Accessibility Planning forum. The role of the Forum is to provide a mechanism to share information and experiences relating to accessibility planning. This assists local authorities across the Region to take a consistent approach whilst recognising different local issues and priorities. Each authority has also developed its own distinct approach based on consultation and GIS mapping. All authorities have developed stakeholder groups comprising representatives from health, education and employment sectors to identify key problems and opportunities. This has been used to “reality check” the issues identified through the mapping audit and gain support from colleagues in relevant service areas.

Statement from Herts Integrated Transport Partnership HITP will "work in partnership across the statutory, commercial and voluntary sectors to achieve integrated transport planning and provision which improves both access to and the quality of services for the people of Hertfordshire. "It's work concentrates on developing the 3P's:

Promoting travel independence, inclusion and accessibility Providing the right transport for the right people Producing efficiencies in service delivery

The 60 strong partnership is therefore committed to supporting any actions which are identified in the audit process and emerge during the partnership meetings

Statement from Beds and Herts Strategic Health Authority

'The NHS in Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire has developed a long term visionfor health services in the 2 counties called 'Investing in Your Health'. Akey component of this strategy is to ensure that there is good & appropriateaccess to health service facilities for both patients & staff.

As such the NHS organisations in the 2 counties will seek to collaboratewith all partner organisations, including Hertfordshire County Council, toensure the effective alignment of planning processes.'

Statement from Hertfordshire Learning and Skills Council

Hertfordshire Learning and Skills Council's ongoing commitment to increasing the participation and achievement of young people and raising the skill levels of adults means we are pleased to support the Accessibility Planning project.

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The delivery of our agenda through collaboration with our partners is an essential theme running through our 2005/06 annual plan and underpins our commitment to this activity.

Statement from Hertfordshire 16-19 Transport Partnership

The 16-19 Transport Partnership has agreed to designate representatives to attend regular Accessibility Planning meetings.

The Partnership will participate and contribute information to assist in the identification of ‘transport gaps’ for 16-19 yr olds. This is part of their role in their efforts to ensure that these students are able to access post 16 education and prevent or assist with accessibility problems caused by financial barriers related to transport.

This has already been done in relation to train travel – the Partnership has negotiated and introduced a concessionary train travel scheme for 16-19 yr olds.

They will continue to work with partners to ensure that their purpose - funding additional support for services and transport provisions for young people in post 16 education is pursued ( within budget constraints ) to provide equality of access to education opportunities.

Statement from Hertfordshire Rural Transport Partnership (HeRTP), Community Development Agency (CDA) for Hertfordshire

CDA for Herts is committed to being politically independent, customer focused, innovative, responsive to change, holistic and open and inclusiveCDA for Herts works at in depth grass-roots level with rural communities and is an independent advocate for rural issues by influencing local, regional and national policy. For example, the HeRTP is a proactive member on the LTP Strategy group, the Rural Strategy within and the Accessibility Strategy

The HeRTP, CDA for Herts supports residents and organisations (both public, private and voluntary) in rural, country and market towns in Hertfordshire to improve the range of sustainable transport, travel and accessibility measures serving the local community. This is undertaken by promoting, rural proofing, identifying need, researching, identifying funding and pooling resources and enabling the development and delivery of projects with partners.

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Appendix 5: Glossary

Accessibility - Accessibility, in this context, is whether people, particularly those from disadvantaged groups and areas, are able to reach the jobs and key services they need, either by travelling to those services or by having those services brought to them.Accession. This is the GIS software package that DfT has recommended that the local authorities use to undertake their mapping audits. It has been developed by MVA.Accessibility assessment - An overall assessment of accessibility made up of a mapping audit and a review of existing knowledge and experience. Accessibility strategy - An authority’s overall vision, objectives and workprogramme for improving accessibility. Acute NHS Hospitals Trusts - Acute NHS Hospitals Trusts are independentstatutory bodies that manage hospitals and as such are responsible for acute services (medical and surgical treatments).Ambulance Service NHS Trusts - Ambulance Service NHS Trusts are the bodies responsible for providing ambulance transport to hospitals.Core Accessibility Indicators - The Department for Transport will calculate six core accessibility indicators centrally for all Local Transport Plans areas using a common methodology and consistent, centrally available, data sets..Jobcentre Plus - Jobcentre Plus is an executive agency of the Department for Work and Pensions. It has been formed by merging the Benefits Agency and Jobcentre offices to offer an integrated work and benefits service.LEARN (Local Educational Access Route Network) is a continuation of the successful package for delivering Safer Routes to School projects. It will deliver a network of safer and more sustainable transport links to all schools in Hertfordshire by working closely with parents, pupils, teachers and local residents. The schemes to be delivered at individual schools will be based on the models developed in the LEARN programme. Learning and Skills Council - The Learning and Skills Councils are non-departmental public bodies responsible for the strategic development, planning, funding, management and quality assurance of all post-16 education and training (excluding higher education) in England. There are 47 local Councils across England.Local Strategic Partnerships Local Strategic Partnerships are non-statutory, multi-agency bodies, which match local authority boundaries, and aim to bring together different parts of the public, private, community and voluntary sectors at the local level.Local accessibility action plan - Accessibility strategies will be made up of anumber of local accessibility action plans. These will be developed over time and set out in detail how the authority, together with its partners, intends to achieve the objectives and tackle the identified accessibility priorities..Mapping audit - A detailed mapping exercise using Accession which is focussed on particular accessibility issues using accessibility indicators and data. Local level mapping audits will examine particular issues, areas and groups in greater detail.Partners - Partners are representatives of local organisations that have a policy development as well as a delivery role. Partners should be involved in

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all stages of the accessibility planning process and actively involved in the accessibility assessment relevant for their sector / interests.Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) - Primary Care Trusts are independent statutoryorganisations responsible for assessing the needs of their population, securing services to meets those needs and providing advice to prevent people developing illness. The PCT may commission NHS trusts or other PCTs to provide services or they may provide services directly. They also ensure general practitioner (GP) based services and community based services, such as district nursing, school nursing and health services, are delivered to the patient.16-19 Transport Partnership - Following the Education Act 2002, each Local Education Authority is required to form a 16-19 transport policy following consultation with key partners including: Colleges, Connexions Services, Learning and Skills Councils and Passenger Transport Authorities, where appropriate. The new act encourages a partnership approach between LEAs, local Learning and Skills Councils, Further and Higher Education Institutes, transport authorities and Connexions to develop a coherent and cost effective policy for 16-19 transport. The partnerships also have the freedom to include other organisations and agencies like Social Services, Health and the voluntary sector.Safer Routes to School project contains four elements; school travel plan, educational initiatives, practical activities (such as the walking bus, exhibitions and competitions) and physical improvements.Stakeholders - Stakeholders are representatives of local organisations that have a delivery or representative role. They will not normally be involved in the assessment stage of the process, as their role will not be clear but have an important role to play in developing, appraising and delivering options. Stakeholders include organisations such as bus operators, community transport groups and representative bodies such as Age Concern.Strategic Health Authorities (SHA) - Strategic Health Authorities are responsible for developing strategies for the local health services and ensuring high-quality performance. They manage the NHS locally and are a key link between the Department of Health and the NHS. They will also ensure that national priorities are integrated into local plans.STAG – School Travel Action Group – see LEARN strategyTravel Plan - A Travel Plan is a package of measures tailored to the needs ofindividual employers or schools and aimed at promoting greener, cleaner travel choices by reducing reliance on the car. Travelwise - The National TravelWise Association (NTWA) is a partnership of local authorities and other organisations working together to promote sustainable transport. NTWA is a network of sectors, including local authorities, health sector, academic sector and passenger transport executives working together to promote healthy and sustainable transport.

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Appendix 6 Maps

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SOA code SOA name nearest settlement

IMD score

English Rank

Herts Rank

HOSPITAL TYPE Comments

E01023310 Broxbourne 006D near Flamstead End

29.22 8487 7 Acute ICF C&D work FE much of the area is fields

E01023555 Hertsmere 008D Bushey North 21.4 12803 61 Acute - - -E01023838 Three Rivers 009D Maple Cross 19.76 14038 84 ICFE01023496 East Hertfordshire

009CPerry Green area

19.69 14082 86 Acute ICF C&D work FE About 14% of population are in St Elizabeth's school for Epilepsy

E01023584 Hertsmere 004D Part of Ridge 19.54 14210 89 Acute ICF C&D work FE No transport from left to right, about 75 people in settlement

E01023925 Welwyn Hatfield 011B Part of Essendon

19.19 14493 98 ICF C&D work FE much of the area is fields

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Appendix 7. List of SOAs in Hertfordshire which are inaccessible by Commercial Public Transport within 60 mins (hospitals and FE colleges) and 40 mins (work), and in the worst 50% of SOA’s in England

(highest ranking in Herts is 683, highest nationally is 32,482)


Appendix 8. Action Plans

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Appendix 9 Abbreviations and Acronyms

BHSHA Beds and Herts Strategic Health AuthorityCDA Community Development AssociationCSF Children Schools and FamiliesCT Community TransportDfT Department for TransportDRT Demand Responsive TransportDWP Department of Work and PensionsEEDA East of England Development AgencyEHO Environmental Health OfficerHCC Herts County CouncilHITP Herts Integrated Transport PartnershipHRTP Herts Rural Transport PartnershipIiC Investing in CommunitiesIIYH Investing in Your HealthIMD Indices of Multiple DeprivationLAA Local Area AgreemenLDF Local Development FrameworkLEARN Local Educational Access Route NetworkLSC Learning Skills CouncilLSP Local Strategic PartnershipLTP Local Transport PlanPCT Primary Care TrustPPIF Public Patient Information ForumsSOA Super Output AreaSTAG School Travel Action GroupSTaR Strategic Area Review

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Documents

· Web viewThe IMD scores for Hertfordshire and the maps showing ... continuing the success of the leaflet that went to all ... (in wider sense of the word)