Councillors are being asked to back an “open bid” system to reprocure the home to school transport service for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
A report for Brighton and Hove City Council’s Policy and Resources Committee said that the e-auction procurement process in 2019 led to a “significant loss of trust and confidence” from families, operators and schools after the system failed.
Cost-cutting consultancy Edge Public Solutions, which set up the dynamic purchasing system (DPS) used in 2019, walked away after the service collapsed and went £1.2 million over budget.
An investigation by the Local Government Association condemned the approach taken as “better suited to transporting stationery” and criticised the lack of councillor involvement.
An independent barrister’s report proposed changes in culture to ensure service changes are not rushed and to foster a culture where “challenges are welcomed and accepted”.
The report said that what was described as an “epic failure” in 2019, which left dozens of children without a way to get to school, resulted from a rushed process and ignoring people’s concerns.
Since then, the council has worked with the Parent Carers’ Council (PaCC) to “co-produce” the home to school transport service.
The current arrangements end in August next year and a procurement project board with representatives from schools and PaCC has met since April last year.
The report said: “The guiding principle has been to ensure that the safety and wellbeing of children and young people is at the forefront of decision making.
“Reprocurement options have been explored by the procurement board and the advantages and disadvantages of each option have been carefully considered.”
A home to school transport “policy panel” advised against using e-auctions designed to give routes to the lowest bidder – as happened in 2019.
The panel wants a “one contract one school” approach to be considered to support traffic management at Hill Park and Downs View special schools.
But, only two of the nine transport operators support this model.
An “open bid” DPS system was recommended and endorsed by councillors on the council’s procurement advisory board in January.
The report said: “An ‘open bid’ model allows new suppliers to apply to join at any time, in contrast to a ‘closed’ framework.
“This reduces the risk of the council being left with too few suppliers if other suppliers drop out.
“This addresses some of the problems associated with the council’s previous experience using a framework from 2015 to 2019.”
The current budget for home to school transport is £3.8 million. Bringing the service “in-house” would cost an extra £1.2 million more than the current contracts.
There are currently 68 children who need to travel by themselves rather than, say, in a minibus and this costs more than £5,000 a day.
The Policy and Resource Committee is due to meet at 4pm at Hove Town Hall on Thursday (24 March). The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.
