“The book says the Focus does 67mpg but we are getting 52mpg based on some trials,” he says. “That results in a cost of 11.4p per mile so if the employee drives properly, 12p per mile will still give them enough reimbursement.”

The company is supporting its staff with greener driving training through the Energy Saving Trust for all company vehicle drivers, from the CEO down, to help them improve their fuel efficiency. On average, drivers are seeing a 10% to 20% improvement.

However, while the cars are switching to leasing, most of Daniel’s vans remain on spot hire.

Boulds says this approach makes sense financially although he is still considering making changes after facing price rises.

A long-wheelbase van has risen from £90 per week to £118, for instance.

“Our lessons from our car review mean we will look at contract hire as well as spot hire, but we will always need spot hire during busy periods so the split will probably be around 50-50,” he says.

“There are savings to be made by going contract hire, probably around £10 per week. There’s also fuel savings with newer vans and more efficient engines.

"And spot hire vans suffer more breakdowns because they are older and not looked after as well.

“However, if a contract hire van breaks down, we have an issue because of the shelving so we will have to have interim measures in place to get a like-for-like replacement, and that means having SLAs with the leasing company.”

Drivers are incentivised to look after the vehicles through clean driver awards. Winners are selected periodically throughout the year and receive a £50 voucher.

They are also engaged with vehicle selections by having a say in the specification. It has resulted in equipment such as Bluetooth and charging facilities for laptops introduced as standard.

Meanwhile, an initiative to reduce road traffic incidents last year resulted in an insurance premium saving of around £50 per vehicle year-on-year. Daniel’s total premium has fallen by 8%.

Crash investigations, re-training of drivers where appropriate and a questionnaire for drivers involved in at-fault incidents asking them to think about how they might have avoided the crash have all contributed to the reduction in accident rates.

The company also imposes a £50 penalty for at-fault accidents, which “helps to concentrate minds”, says Boulds.

He adds: “We have also reduced the severity of RTAs so they are lower impact which means they are cheaper and quicker to repair. And we have reduced third-party accidents as well.”

A trial of rev limiters on the vans is showing 11% savings in reduced fuel consumption so far, although tippers are showing 16% savings. Boulds expects a return on investment within six months.

Funding, environment, safety, fuel efficiency – all are key elements in the Daniel fleet strategy. And nothing is sacred: new suggestions are encouraged from staff and will always be considered.

As he says: “This is a flexible company – we will always reassess ways of doing business and change our policy if it makes us better.”

‘Cash takers must be treated the same as company car drivers’

Daniel has 95 cash takers which it manages closely.

Certain restrictions apply, such as vehicles should not be more than eight years old and 120,000 miles.

Staff must produce their V5, tax, MOT, breakdown cover including home start, business insurance and service history. Checks are made annually.

“The cash is offered in lieu of a company car so it has to be treated the same; it’s just funded in a different way,” says Paul Boulds.

The company is also working towards setting CO2 and mpg limits.

And it has tweaked the policy so that staff can no longer jump from cash to car and back whenever they like. Now they have to commit to the lifespan of the car.

Cash takers can only claim business mileage at the Advisory Fuel Rate; they are advised that they can claim tax relief on the AMAP rate.

Daniel also has some ad hoc private users, but each must be approved by their line manager and finance department; their car must be legal; no pool car must be available; and they must have supplied proof of business insurance.

In addition, they can only claim business mileage at 30p per mile. Not surprisingly, the numbers are low.