SCHOOL CONTRACTS CRISIS
DRIVERS SENT 300 MILES TO TAKE CHILDREN ON FOUR-MILE SCHOOL RUN IN CORNWALL
A PH driver registered in Braintree was asked to drive 300 miles to do a school run in Cornwall - ferrying the pupil four miles from his home to school. Another driver took three pupils to the same school, driving 250 miles from Shropshire. Adam Paynter, whose son was picked up by the cab, said it was a “complete waste of money” and questioned if public funds were paying for the school transport funded by the local authority. Mr Paynter, who is a former leader of Cornwall Council (CC), said his children used to get picked up by a council-funded minibus, which was later reduced to a taxi. The councillor, who is deputy leader of the Independent Group at the council, said: “The school year started last Wednesday – we had no correspondence from CC or any operator, so we rang the driver from A2B Taxis in Truro who
had the contract last year but he said he hadn’t got the contract. “This week it’s been done by a driver from Essex, registered with Braintree DC. Last week, the driver had come from Shropshire, work- ing for the same company in Essex. “He told me he was doing those three days, then there would be somebody else this week. He was staying in the middle of nowhere for two nights when he did the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and then drove back to Shropshire. “The driver from Essex is staying at a Travelodge and just doing the pick-ups and drop-offs either end of the day and he’ll drive back to Essex on Friday afternoon. You wonder what he’s going to do for the other ten hours of the day!” Meanwhile, the pupils had to tell the cabbie he was going the wrong way on his first journey as he didn’t have a clue where he was.
ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL STRUGGLES WITH SEN TRANSPORT DEMAND
Isle of Wight Council’s transport costs for SEN children has gone up, despite less pupils using the service. The council spent £3.6m to take 2,317 pupils to school in 2012 but this year paid £4.3m on 1,614 pupils. Currently, 9.7% of school pupils are eligible for transport. That includes 1,111 mainstream pupils using school buses and 503 SEN pupils who travel by taxi and minibus. In mainstream schools, the number of children eligible for council transport has fallen by 44% in the last ten years to 1,111. But,
26
outside mainstream provision, over the same period, the number of SEN children needing transport has gone from 169 to 352 - increas- ing costs by £1.25m to £1.7m. Council officers said the authority is operating close to
a statutory
minimum of service, adding it’s “impossible to solve problems” without statutory change from central government. Stuart Ashley, interim children services director, said it was a national challenge - he’s happy to provide more transport but the council doesn’t have the money.
“Considering the council has declared a climate emergency, it would be interesting to see if they’ve worked out how much carbon those decisions are making driving from Essex to Cornwall.” A spokesperson for CC said: “24/7 Taxis, which specialises in school transport across many councils, is now based in Cornwall, employing new local drivers locally. “The demand for school transport is growing and, until now, we have not had enough companies to cater for the 30 transport routes for around 60 to 70 students. “As the company establishes itself, it is temporarily supplementing the local workforce with drivers from other areas of their business. CC is not paying for the temporary relocation of staff, the cost of their travel to and from Cornwall or their accommodation. It is a short-term measure while more drivers come through the required checks before they can start work. The fact that the company is able to do this is a positive of working with a supplier with resources available nationally which can be utilised at a local level where needed.” Mr Paynter argued the council’s statement “doesn’t add up”. He said: “There was a big fuss when the council removed the limit on taxi numbers and we heard there were too many taxis in Newquay which was affecting people’s livelihoods. “Yet the council says there aren’t enough taxis in Cornwall to provide travel to schools and is bringing companies in from Essex. “These school trips would be a solid base for any taxi in Cornwall to cover – the work’s guaranteed.”
OCTOBER 2023 PHTM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82
