Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) has apologised after many home-to-school services in North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire failed to operate in the first days of the new school year, which the regional body claims is a result of operators returning contracts at the last minute.
SPT procures and manages home-to-school transport for 11 local authorities (LAs). The two in question claim that they were not informed until Tuesday 16 August – the day before schools and colleges returned on 17 August – that not all contracts would operate.
South Lanarkshire says that “a very small minority” of children in its area – said to be around 180 – were affected, but North Lanarkshire claims that 26 of its schools and 1,150 pupils were impacted on the first day of term.
Both LAs are working with SPT to right the situation. On 17 August, South Lanarkshire said that it and SPT had “made progress” in securing additional provision, although at that point “a small number” of contracts remained unfulfilled. It asked parents and guardians to consider alternative arrangements in the short term.
North Lanarkshire told affected parents on 16 August that a “lack of available contractors” is contributing to the lack of services, although Head of Education North Gerard McLaughlin added that “several factors” are in play. A list posted on the LA’s website on 17 August showed that over 30 routes were expected to not operate the following day.
In a statement, SPT says that it put in place sufficient provision for the majority of LAs it acts on behalf of. However, it claims that a small number of home-to-school operators have “now declined a number of approved and awarded contracts” in North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire.
SPT adds that because of the short notice involved, it was not able to make alternative arrangements ahead of the start of term. The regional body claims that this year has seen “an unprecedented volume of renewals” given that short-term contracts were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some taxi companies additionally withdrew from SEN transport services at short notice. SPT is now seeking to place what it describes as “temporary emergency contracts” for affected duties.
North Lanarkshire reacted angrily to SPT’s failure. The late notice of an initial notification “is unacceptable,” the LA says in a statement. MSP for Central Scotland Meghan Gallacher also weighed in, describing the fiasco as “completely unacceptable.”
