Education and Social Care Transport Assistance

Dear School Transport ProvidersOver the last few months Central Bedfordshire Council has been reviewing our approach to delivery of Home to School and Social Care transport for both mainstream and SEND students with the view of implementing a new approach for the 2021/22 academic year.We gained Executive Committee approval at the start of January to procure transport provision on a Zonal Model with 8 Zones across Central Bedfordshire, each with three contracted providers. One for buses/coaches and one for minibuses and one for taxis.However, following feedback from our current providers on the impact that this scale of change could have on the overall market at a time when COVID-19 has severely restricted their other forms of income of the intended eight geographic zones, we have decided to tender for two zones to start in the 2021/22 academic year. These will be Biggleswade and Ampthill/Flitwick.This change in approach is to minimise the impact whilst still being in the process of changing how we procure home to school and social care transport provision.For the remaining six zones we plan to procure these next year for the start of the 2022/23 academic year and where possible will be extending current arrangements for the intervening twelve months to ensure continuity for children, young people and families and providers.Through these extensions we seek to support the income of providers whilst their other forms of income are restricted, but we will also be asking suppliers to provide some of the low or no cost elements of the new service requirements. For example requesting the inclusion of Travel Passports for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) which will give drivers and passenger assistants a summary of their transport needs and likes/dislikes, particularly helpful if regular staff are unavailable and a new person is supporting the child.We are currently planning to publish the tender for the first two zones w/c 22nd February 2021 with contracts commencing on 19th July 2021 to support transition arrangements for children young people and families. However full provision of services will not start until 1st September 2021.On Thursday 25th February 2021, between 2:00pm and 3:30pm we will be holding a virtual Provider Event to outline the service requirements and procurement process in more detail and provide the opportunity for attendees to ask questions prior the tender being released the following week.If you would like to attend the virtual Provider Event, please get in touch via CSCommissioning@centralbedfordshire.gov.ukKinds Regards