An article from the Biased broadcasting corporations' website but it does raise an interesting point and that is why has the prices of these contracts gone so high ?
time for a forum members debate maybe ?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68665303Council spending on school transport for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has almost doubled in the last five years, BBC research has found.
Spending is set to hit £1.4bn across local authorities in England in 2023-24, a 95% rise from £728m in 2018-19.
Councils are required by law to provide free transport to SEND children who are unable to walk to school.
The government said it was investing £2.6bn in special school places.
It said this would mean fewer children would need to travel long distances, reducing costs.
Council leaders say while inflation has pushed up costs, the rise has been fuelled by increased demand and complex cases.
Local authorities have seen demand increase by over 40%, with more than 183,000 children using the services this year.
Meanwhile, the average annual cost of SEND school transport per child across England has gone up by around a third, from £6,280 to £8,299.
The rising cost of providing school transport is a key driver of the current pressure on council budgets.
Council leaders have warned overspends in this area will lead to cuts in services elsewhere as they try to balance the books and avoid following other councils who have recently gone bust.
The leader of the County Councils Network, Tim Oliver, said the cost of school transport was "unsustainable" and suggested means-testing should be looked at, meaning some parents might have to pay.
Haven't posted full article but why has demand increased 40% in 5 years ? Is it just that we are classifying more children as SEND or has there been a large increase in the numbers of children being born with disabilities etc.. Is this possibly a consequence of immigration with far more children born to parents who are much more closely related(DNA wise) due to the selection process of arranged marriages ?
I think there is also an element of greed in some areas with many bids going in at high prices. That said many of these contracts are very short term and that encourages the fast buck mentality.
I also think that the process is far less of a bidding war now which reduces competitive pricing.