One of the biggest budget pressures on upper-tier councils today is home-to-school transport.
Provision of school transport is a statutory duty, with the impact and costs most heavily borne by geographically large, often rural counties; nine of the top 10 highest-spending councils were large, non-urban councils; the other was Birmingham.
Those counties face two key challenges: a higher proportion of their school-age children live beyond the statutory walking distance from their nearest school; and the children often have limited (if any) public transport networks that meet their required travel times.
Consequently, these councils are often reliant on contracting from the external market, at significant cost.
Somerset has seen its school transport costs rise in recent years, particularly in relation to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), as demand for specialist provision has amplified already challenging inflationary impacts.
Since 2020/21, Somerset’s SEND transport spend has more than doubled from £5.13 million. In 2024/25, it was projected to increase to £13.36 million – but, in October 2024, we projected a year-end spend of £12.52 million.
This welcome news came as a direct result of a dedicated school transport project designed to identify potential efficiencies and reduce the rate at which SEND transport costs increase in the future.
The officer-led project, supported by senior leaders and members, began in October 2023, and has focused on a number of key areas, including live data, procurement, taxi licensing, market engagement, personal budgets, travel training, and internal fleet efficiencies.
The main driver for the project is the need to reduce the rate at which the SEND transport budget is increasing, rather than unrealistically trying to reduce the budget, given the ongoing challenges around demand.
By 2027/28, Somerset was projecting to spend £16.57 million on SEND transport, but as a result of the project, it now has a mitigated projection of £14.91 million.
Each topic area has had its own successes. For example, we used live data to rapidly identify and review batches of the most expensive routes (by per pupil cost). Of the 40 reviewed in the first exercise, 29 were changed in some way, either by amalgamating or retendering.
This project has generated some significant savings and is well ahead of the ambitious targets set for it.
Having made the case to not procure external support and opting to lead their own project, the incredible officer capability we have in local government has been highlighted.
I am proud of the amazing work our officers do, particularly in these times of pressured budgets; too often we are too quick to accept pressures that are perceived to be ‘outside of our control’.
I want to champion our officers and use this article to offer options to other authorities that might be able to benefit from our success.
Our local government family should champion the great work of our officers and share any benefits to help others better manage budgets – and, in this case, help make statutory spend more efficient.
The project team have agreed to respond to questions from other authorities. Please contact Phil Curd, Head of Education Places, at [email protected]