--- title: "Education and Social Care Transport Assistance" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-029348" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-029348" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-029348.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-029348.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE COUNCIL" published: "2021-02-15" --- # Education and Social Care Transport Assistance Buyer: CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE COUNCIL Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-029348 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-029348) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-029348.json) ## Summary The Central Bedfordshire Council is initiating a tender for "Education and Social Care Transport Assistance" focused on providing home to school and social care transport in the UK. The procurement is currently in the planning stage, with the tender set to be published during the week commencing 22nd February 2021. This initiative will cover two geographic zones, Biggleswade and Ampthill/Flitwick, with contracts expected to commence on 19th July 2021, marking a transition to new service provisions that will fully start from 1st September 2021. The procurement process aims to engage taxi services and related transport providers, ensuring a robust supply chain for these essential services. This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in transport services, particularly those offering taxi services, minibuses, and buses. Providers who can adapt to the evolving needs of educational and social care transport, such as accommodating children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), would be well-suited to compete. The planned virtual Provider Event on 25th February 2021 will serve as a crucial platform for prospective suppliers to understand the requirements, ask questions, and prepare their proposals, thereby fostering business growth and enhancing service delivery for the community. ## Notice Dear School Transport ProvidersOver the last few months Central Bedfordshire Council has been reviewing our approach to delivery of Home to School and Social Care transport for both mainstream and SEND students with the view of implementing a new approach for the 2021/22 academic year.We gained Executive Committee approval at the start of January to procure transport provision on a Zonal Model with 8 Zones across Central Bedfordshire, each with three contracted providers. One for buses/coaches and one for minibuses and one for taxis.However, following feedback from our current providers on the impact that this scale of change could have on the overall market at a time when COVID-19 has severely restricted their other forms of income of the intended eight geographic zones, we have decided to tender for two zones to start in the 2021/22 academic year. These will be Biggleswade and Ampthill/Flitwick.This change in approach is to minimise the impact whilst still being in the process of changing how we procure home to school and social care transport provision.For the remaining six zones we plan to procure these next year for the start of the 2022/23 academic year and where possible will be extending current arrangements for the intervening twelve months to ensure continuity for children, young people and families and providers.Through these extensions we seek to support the income of providers whilst their other forms of income are restricted, but we will also be asking suppliers to provide some of the low or no cost elements of the new service requirements. For example requesting the inclusion of Travel Passports for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) which will give drivers and passenger assistants a summary of their transport needs and likes/dislikes, particularly helpful if regular staff are unavailable and a new person is supporting the child.We are currently planning to publish the tender for the first two zones w/c 22nd February 2021 with contracts commencing on 19th July 2021 to support transition arrangements for children young people and families. However full provision of services will not start until 1st September 2021.On Thursday 25th February 2021, between 2:00pm and 3:30pm we will be holding a virtual Provider Event to outline the service requirements and procurement process in more detail and provide the opportunity for attendees to ask questions prior the tender being released the following week.If you would like to attend the virtual Provider Event, please get in touch via CSCommissioning@centralbedfordshire.gov.ukKinds Regards ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/003041-2021 | | Notice type | Planning Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 15 Feb 2021 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 12 Feb 2021 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | Not specified | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planned | | Lots status | Planned | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | CENTRAL BEDFORDSHIRE COUNCIL | | Locality | CHICKSANDS | | Post town | Stevenage | | Postcode | SG17 5TQ | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLH East (England) | | ITL 2 | TLH2 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | | ITL 3 | TLH25 Central Bedfordshire | | Local authority | Central Bedfordshire | | Electoral ward | Shefford | | Westminster constituency | Hitchin | | Delivery location | TLH25 Central Bedfordshire | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport) ### Codes - 60120000 - Taxi services - 60172000 - Hire of buses and coaches with driver ## Release History - 15 Feb 2021 at 16:17 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/003041-2021 ## Notice URLs - http://in-tendhost.co.uk/centralbedfordshire ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-029348. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-029348.json.