Social care workers in the Welshpool area will soon be carrying out visits in electric cars and on e-bikes, the county council has confirmed after receiving a whopping Welsh Government grant.
Powys said it plans to buy 12 electric cars and 15 e-bikes for some of its own in-house domiciliary care staff and those working for private agencies, after receiving an extra £400,000 from Welsh Government.
It will also be paying for some care workers to take driving lessons, so that it can increase the flexibility and effectiveness of the service that it provides to vulnerable residents.
“Our care workers’ dedication is immense, and I’m delighted that we can offer this to them and our care providers,” said Cllr Sian Cox, Cabinet Member for a Caring Powys.
“Electric vehicles, charging points, and driving lessons for people who want to become carers will increase the capacity and flexibility of our care service, reduce our emissions as a council, improve air quality in our communities, and help us move towards a stronger, fairer and greener Powys.”
The £400,000, which is intended to boost social care capacity, will be spent on:
- 10 electric cars for private agency care staff to use
- Two electric cars for in-house care staff to use
- Grants to care agencies to help them install their own charging points
- 15 e-bikes for care agency staff to use in towns
- 20 driving lessons for 20 learner drivers
