Decision - Special Needs Home to School Contracts 2011

(1)         That Cabinet approves the arrangements for home to school transport contract tendering set out in the report.

(2)         That Cabinet approves the change to a framework contracting approach to home to school transport.

(3)         That Cabinet approves Departmental Transport Service work operating within the framework arrangements.

The operation of transport contracts via a framework agreement arrangement offers the best value solution to the provision of home to school transport for entitled pupils, and for DTS travellers.  Such contracting does not tie the Council to fixed value contracts, and where the numbers of pupils (or DTS clients) travelling reduces, as in recent years, then the value of the contract automatically reduces.  The period of contract can be set in accordance with the needs of the school and the future likely pupil profile.  Arrangements within the framework can also be made to meet shorter term needs whilst still securing the best price and quality standards.

Given the Council’s legal responsibility to provide transport to eligible pupils it must identify means of providing that transport.  Whilst it could in theory maintain its own fleet of vehicles for this purpose this would not be cost effective, given the costs of capitalising the service and the amount of vehicle “down time” outside of school hours and the school term.  Staffing such a service would also be difficult in that staff are only required in the early mornings and late afternoons, and would need to have licences suitable to the various types of vehicle that they would drive.

The use of external transport contractors or other individual school transport arrangements could be managed through schools, but only for children attending the Council’s own maintained schools.  This would have the disadvantage of tendering or otherwise making in school provision on a smaller scale and would potentially drive up costs.  The fair disaggregation of transport budgets would also be difficult to achieve, and would place an additional task with schools.  Separate arrangements would still have to be made by the Council for pupils attending non-maintained schools or maintained schools in other Local Authority areas.

The DTS arrangements could operate within a separate framework arrangement, but this would require a separate PQQ and tendering process.  Given that the home to school and DTS arrangements are made through the same team this is unlikely to represent best value.