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Home to School Transport (Buses)

London Borough of Southwark

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

24 Aug 2026 at 16:59

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
AwardUpdate

05 Aug 2026 at 16:11

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Award

02 Jul 2026 at 14:58

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

London Borough of Southwark buys home-to-school transport by bus for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The service takes passengers to and from their place of education, requiring passenger transport vehicles with drivers rather than vehicle hire alone. The requirement covers minibuses, special-purpose road passenger transport and motor vehicles designed to carry 10 or more people. Delivery is in London. This is a passenger transport operation focused on safely and reliably transporting children and young people on education journeys. It will suit operators with suitable bus or minibus fleets, trained drivers and the operational systems needed to manage regular education transport services for Southwark.

The procurement is complete and was awarded on 24 August 2026 to HATS Group Ltd. The award value is £7,000,000 gross, including any applicable taxes, in GBP. The contract period runs from 4 September 2026 to 3 September 2028, with signature scheduled for 4 September 2026. There is one lot, which was marked as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. Southwark used a direct award rather than an open competition. The stated reason was an extension or partial replacement of additional or repeat services, awarded to the current incumbent while procurement work proceeds towards a competitive procedure. The procurement is treated as a light-touch services contract and the award is above the relevant threshold.

This award demonstrates substantial, ongoing demand from Southwark for dedicated SEND home-to-school bus transport. A credible competitor for the same requirement would need to provide a dependable fleet of minibuses and larger passenger vehicles, suitably equipped and maintained for regular education journeys. It would also need experienced drivers and robust arrangements for safeguarding, passenger assistance, route planning, punctuality, incident management and communication with schools, families and the council. Operational capacity matters because the service involves transporting children and young people to and from education rather than occasional private hire. Experience delivering special-purpose passenger transport, managing multiple scheduled routes and maintaining service continuity would strengthen a future response when this requirement returns to market.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Home to School Transport (Buses)

Notice Description

SEND buses transport service to take children/young people to and from their place of education.

Procurement Information

Additional or repeat goods, services or works - extension or partial replacement Direct Award of services to current incumbent for the extension of services whilst procurement work is undertaken for a competitive procedure to take place

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c292
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/080560-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation

60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

CPV Codes

34114400 - Minibuses

34120000 - Motor vehicles for the transport of 10 or more persons

60130000 - Special-purpose road passenger-transport services

60170000 - Hire of passenger transport vehicles with driver

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£7,000,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
24 Aug 20263 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
24 Aug 20263 weeks ago
Contract Period
4 Sep 2026 - 3 Sep 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
London Borough of Southwark
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SE1 2QH
Postcode Area
South East London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI44 Lewisham and Southwark
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Southwark
Electoral Ward
London Bridge & West Bermondsey
Westminster Constituency
Bermondsey and Old Southwark

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

HATS Group Ltd

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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