Wiseman is wary of an unintended consequence of changing vans at such a rapid pace: mass de-fleeting in five years’ time.

It’s something he’s keen to avoid.

“We will replace the high-mileage vehicles first, rather than re-distribute them within the fleet, in order to spread the replacement cost for the future,” he says.

“We might also keep some low-mileage vehicles for seven years depending on how the vehicle is doing in terms of refurbishment needs and operating costs.

“Once we have spread out the cost, we can go back to a policy of internal reallocation.”

The principal driver for the move to outright purchase was the pressing need to regain control over the fleet.

That led to the savings, but Wiseman does not rule out reverting to contract hire should the cost balance swing back.

“We will review our fleet procurement every two years through a mini tender to check that outright purchasing and Ford are the right options for us in terms of value,” he says.

“If we do decide to go back to leasing, we will have a robust system in place to manage the provider.”

He adds: “If you outsource you have to have someone internally to monitor what’s going on and to challenge the fleet management company.

"In five years’ time my costs won’t have increased from three years ago – that’s no change in cost for eight years, apart from fuel.”

Wiseman’s background is HGV transport management, working with the likes of Harris distribution.

A 25-year veteran, his first taste of car and van fleet came with Kirklees Council in Yorkshire.

The local authority bought all its vehicles outright which gave Wiseman an insight into the potential savings that could be achieved with a tightly-controlled fleet policy.

From there he joined Yorkshire Housing.

Processes learned while working with HGVs have proved equally useful for managing vans.

Also, practices that operate in the private sector can apply to public sector fleets.

“If fleet spend increases it means less money for upgrading homes, so the more money I save, the more money we can spend on housing,” Wiseman says.

“In the HGV sector you are measured on results and I have always taken that with me.”

The Yorkshire Housing fleet of 150 vans is mostly short wheelbase, low roof Transit, plus a few chassis cabs, and vehicles with tail-lifts and cages, depending on individual requirements.