Please provide the details in respect to the below relating to the provision of Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Transport.
1) Do you currently use external suppliers for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Transport?
Yes. Devon County Council (DCC) do not run any internal transport provision although some routes operate using DCC fleet vehicles, the drivers and passenger assistants are externally employed.
a) If not, are you planning on using them in the future?
N/A
2) For the financial years (April – March) 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24:
a) Annual spend on SEND Transport services by your trust, split by:
i) Internally provided
None
ii) Externally provided
| 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
| £9,526,440.11 | £13,704,980.00 | £17,689,274.00 | £21,477,375.00 | £25,095,802.00 | £26,848,368.00 |
b) The number of journeys provided by your trust, split by:
i) Internally provided
None
ii) Externally provided
| 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
| 1502 | 1797 | 1917 | 2202 | 2374 | 2515 |
The details provided are taken at a snapshot in time (May of each academic year) and relates to the number of SEN only routes. There will be additional routes where SEN and mainstream passengers share arrangements. Routes are typically 2 journeys per day.
3) The following contract information (i.e. contractors who provide transport and the costs) regarding the current provision of SEND Transport services at your trust:
a) Name of the current SEND Transport provider(s)
b) Total contract value
c) Start date
d) End date
Compliance with this request would exceed the appropriate cost limit under Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which is £450 or 18 hours of officer time. Devon County Council currently has 482 approved operators. It would take at least 10 minutes per operator to locate, identify and extract the data requested. This would equate to over 80 hours of work.
Under the Act, there is a duty to provide advice and assistance as to how a request can be refined to fit within the appropriate limit. Unfortunately, due to the way the data is held this is not possible for this request.
4) If a different SEND Transport provider was previously used, please provide:
a) Name of the previous SEND Transport provider(s)
Compliance with this request would exceed the appropriate cost limit under Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which is £450 or 18 hours of officer time. DCC uses a large number of operators and contracts, currently 482 approved operators. It would take at least 10 minutes to locate, identify and extract the data for each contract and confirm if there was a previous operator in their place, and identify who it was. This would equate to over 80 hours of work.
Under the Act, there is a duty to provide advice and assistance as to how a request can be refined to fit within the appropriate limit. Unfortunately, due to the way the data is held this is not possible for this request.
b) Reason for change
There are a number of reasons contractors change, for example these include best value review, contractor giving notice, us giving notice due to efficiencies and needs of the passengers changing.