The Home to School transport scheme

Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request the following information:

1. In the 2023/2024 financial year, how many eligible children did the Council pay to provide taxis for under the Home to School transport scheme?

2. In the 2023/2024 financial year, how many eligible children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) did the Council pay to provide taxis for under the Home to School transport scheme?

3. In the 2023/2024 financial year, how much, in total, did the Council pay to provide taxis for eligible children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) under the Home to School transport scheme?

4. In the 2023/2024 financial year, what was the difference between the cost the Council had budgeted for providing taxis for eligible children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) under the Home to School transport scheme, and the cost the Council ultimately paid for providing those services?

5. In the 2023/2024 financial year, on how many occasions was a taxi journey for eligible children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) under the Home to School transport scheme paid for but not completed, for any reason (Illness, cancellation etc.)?

6. Did the Council have a contract in the 2023/24 financial year with a taxi company, or companies, to provide taxi services for eligible children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) under the Home to School transport scheme? If so, with how many companies did the Council have such a contract?

7. If yes to Q. 6), did the Council operate an open, competitive bidding process for the tender of that contract?

8. If yes to Q.6), what was the payment structure under the terms of the contract from the Council to the taxi company (annual, quarterly, per-trip etc.)?

9. If yes to Q.6), were there any performance-based standards used to grade the quality of service, and value for money, being provided by the taxi company to the Council? If so, what were they?

10. If yes to Q. 9), did the contract terms allow the Council to cancel the contract if the taxi company failed to meet these standards?

I can confirm that the information requested is held by Lincolnshire County Council. I have detailed below the information that is being released to you.

1. 17,224

2. 2514

3. £10,532,394.44 was paid for SEND children attending a SEND Establishment, using a vehicle of 8 seats or less

4. An overall SEND budget is set; it is not allocated to particular vehicle types therefore we are unable to answer this question.

However, the overall SEND budget for 2023/2024 was £17,570,571, with the actual spend being £22,283,309 (this is for all modes of educational travel).

5. Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) does not hold this information.

6. The costs identified in Question 3 above was against 118 companies

7. Yes

8. Payment based on a daily rate

9. As per Terms and Conditions

10. Yes