School Transport - Costs, Budgets, Frameworks SEND, PRU and Mainstream
Case reference FOI2026/01096
Received 8 May 2026
Published 4 June 2026
Request
Below are the details of my FOI request:
This request is for recorded information only.
If data is not held in the exact format requested, please provide the closest aggregated format available.
For question 1-3 please provide data for each of the last three completed financial years (2023/24–2025/26), broken down into: SEND, PRU & Mainstream.
(If 2025/26 is not available please provide 2022/23 - 2024/25)
Where the requested SEND / PRU / Mainstream breakdown is not held, please provide the total figure in the format held and briefly state the basis used.
Q1 - The total gross spend on home-to-school transport.
Q2 – The total number of pupils transported.
Q3 - The total number of transport routes operated. (If routes are not categorised, please provide a total route count with clarification.)
Q4 - Procurement Route
Please state the primary procurement route(s) used (e.g. DPS, framework, open tender) and, where held, the approximate proportion of spend by route.
Q5 - Contract Register / Award Structure
Please provide one of the following:
· A link to your public contract register covering home-to-school transport, or
· Confirmation that contracts are awarded at individual route level (e.g. via DPS) and are not held as a single consolidated contract.
Q6 - Digital Systems
Please list the main systems used for home-to-school transport, for example:
· Procurement / tendering (e.g. In-tend)
· Route planning (e.g. QRoutes, Trapeze)
· Operations / case management / invoicing (e.g. MRI)
· Compliance or driver checks (e.g. in-house compliance modules, DBS checking systems, licensing or badge management systems)
For each system or process, please provide:
· System name
· Whether it is in-house or third-party
· Aggregated costs
Q7 - Staffing
Please provide the total number of council staff involved in the end-to-end delivery of the home-to-school transport service, together with the aggregated annual salary cost for those staff.
This should include, where applicable, staff involved in:
· commissioning
· procurement
· route planning
· service management
· administration
· client transport / licensing
· compliance
· operational delivery
And separately:
· in-house drivers
· in-house passenger assistants / escorts
Q8 - Winning Bid Prices (Aggregated)
For the last three completed financial years, please provide one of the following, whichever is most readily available:
· Average winning day rate for home-to-school transport routes
· Minimum and maximum winning day rate, or
· Winning day-rate bandings (e.g. £50–£75, £75–£100, £100–£125, etc.)
Q9 - Award Method
Please confirm:
· Whether routes are typically awarded to the lowest priced compliant bid, or
· Whether other factors are routinely applied (e.g. quality weighting).
Q10 - Route Level Data
Please provide the following fields in an Excel, CSV or any other structured format.
· Route reference or number
· Contract start date
· Contract end date
· Winning bid price (day rate or equivalent)
· Route mileage
· Vehicle type (high-level category if held i.e 4-8 Seater, WAV, Minibus, Bus etc.)
· Whether a passenger assistant is required (Y/N)
· Number of passengers (if held)
We are not requesting any commercially sensitive details.
Q11. Delivery Model
At a high level, please confirm whether routes are typically delivered by:
· Operators employing drivers
· Self-employed drivers contracting directly
· A mix of both
Response
Below are the details of my FOI request:
This request is for recorded information only.
If data is not held in the exact format requested, please provide the closest aggregated format available.
For question 1-3 please provide data for each of the last three completed financial years (2023/24–2025/26), broken down into: SEND, PRU & Mainstream.
(If 2025/26 is not available please provide 2022/23 - 2024/25)
Where the requested SEND / PRU / Mainstream breakdown is not held, please provide the total figure in the format held and briefly state the basis used.
Q1 - The total gross spend on home-to-school transport.
Answer: Please see the table below. Please note, PRU costs are built into the SEND and mainstream costs:
|
Financial Year |
Mainstream |
SEND |
|
2023/24 |
£3,307,872 |
£4,918,984 |
|
2024/25 |
£4,600,761 |
£7,395,227 |
|
2025/26 |
£5,066,966 |
£9,525,056 |
Q2 – The total number of pupils transported.
Answer: Please see the table below:
|
No. of Pupils Transported |
|||
|
Financial Year |
Mainstream |
SEND |
PRU |
|
2023/24 |
2270 |
507 |
29 |
|
2024/25 |
2292 |
565 |
31 |
|
2025/26 |
2301 |
643 |
33 |
Q3 - The total number of transport routes operated. (If routes are not categorised, please provide a total route count with clarification.)
Answer: Please see the table below. Please note, PRU figures are included in the SEND figures:
|
No. of Transport Routes |
||
|
Financial Year |
Mainstream |
SEND |
|
2023/24 |
171 |
154 |
|
2024/25 |
189 |
221 |
|
2025/26 |
194 |
259 |
Q4 - Procurement Route
Please state the primary procurement route(s) used (e.g. DPS, framework, open tender) and, where held, the approximate proportion of spend by route.
Answer: The Service Area have advised all contracts procured via DPS.
Our Contracts Register is publically available on our council website and can be viewed via the following link:
Please search under Transport and Access, plus type of transport which is SEN, Mainstream, Public and ASC.
As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
Q5 - Contract Register / Award Structure
Please provide one of the following:
· A link to your public contract register covering home-to-school transport, or
· Confirmation that contracts are awarded at individual route level (e.g. via DPS) and are not held as a single consolidated contract.
Answer: All contracts are individual awards and uploaded to Contracts Register.
Our Contracts Register is publically available on our council website and can be viewed via the following link:
Please search under Transport and Access, plus type of transport which is SEN, Mainstream, Public and ASC.
As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
Q6 - Digital Systems
Please list the main systems used for home-to-school transport, for example:
· Procurement / tendering (e.g. In-tend)
Answer: Proactis Due-North
· Route planning (e.g. QRoutes, Trapeze)
Answer: PAX QR
· Operations / case management / invoicing (e.g. MRI)
Answer: Business World and PAX QR
· Compliance or driver checks (e.g. in-house compliance modules, DBS checking systems, licensing or badge management systems)
Answer: Internal database
For each system or process, please provide:
· System name
Answer: PAX QR
· Whether it is in-house or third-party
Answer: Third party
· Aggregated costs
Answer: £406,000 over 4 years
Q7 - Staffing
Please provide the total number of council staff involved in the end-to-end delivery of the home-to-school transport service, together with the aggregated annual salary cost for those staff.
This should include, where applicable, staff involved in:
· commissioning
· procurement
· route planning
· service management
· administration
· client transport / licensing
· compliance
· operational delivery
And separately:
· in-house drivers
· in-house passenger assistants / escorts
Answer: 43. This includes drivers (4) and passenger assistants (30).
Annual staff cost £682,000.
Q8 - Winning Bid Prices (Aggregated)
For the last three completed financial years, please provide one of the following, whichever is most readily available:
· Average winning day rate for home-to-school transport routes
Answer: £161.49
· Minimum and maximum winning day rate, or
Answer: Lowest = £17.50 per day; Highest = £490 per day.
· Winning day-rate bandings (e.g. £50–£75, £75–£100, £100–£125, etc.)
Answer: N/A
Q9 - Award Method
Please confirm:
· Whether routes are typically awarded to the lowest priced compliant bid, or
· Whether other factors are routinely applied (e.g. quality weighting).
Answer: Lowest compliant bid.
Q10 - Route Level Data
Please provide the following fields in an Excel, CSV or any other structured format.
· Route reference or number
· Contract start date
· Contract end date
· Winning bid price (day rate or equivalent)
· Route mileage
· Vehicle type (high-level category if held i.e 4-8 Seater, WAV, Minibus, Bus etc.)
· Whether a passenger assistant is required (Y/N)
· Number of passengers (if held)
We are not requesting any commercially sensitive details.
Answer: The route reference/numbers are available on our Contracts Register, which is publically available on our council website and can be viewed via the following link:
Please search under Transport and Access, plus type of transport which is SEN, Mainstream, Public and ASC.
As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
Currently the remaining information is not available. The Service Area have advised they have recently implemented a new system which is currently unable to produce reports. The Service Area no longer have access to the old system and therefore are unable to locate this information.
However, the Service Area are hoping the new system will be fully operational in approximately 3 months’ time if you would like to re-submit your request for this information.
Q11. Delivery Model
At a high level, please confirm whether routes are typically delivered by:
· Operators employing drivers
· Self-employed drivers contracting directly
· A mix of both
Answer: Operators employing drivers.
Documents
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