Purpose

Children and Families Committee on 14 November
2022 delegated to the Executive Director for Children and Families,
in consultation with the Executive Director of Place as follows:
“to embark on a comprehensive exercise around the operational
delivery and re-procurement of school transport to improve the
effectiveness of routes, encourage and support new suppliers to
Cheshire East, improve value-for-money and the experiences for
families”.

Content

The decision is to proceed with procurement of
home-to-school transport contracts using e[1]auctions via the council’s
Dynamic Purchasing System, commencing in Summer 2024. The decision
to establish the dynamic purchasing system has already been agreed
through an ODR2 decision form that was completed on 20 June 2023.
This decision relates specifically to the operation of the
e-auction approach.
 
The approach to be adopted will use a
shortened (1 Stage) procedure to engage the council’s supply
chain in the process of submitting bids for home-to[1]school travel contracts. Each
eligible supplier will previously have pre-qualified to participate
in the council’s Dynamic Purchasing System for
home-to[1]school
travel. In so doing they will have satisfied the council’s
requirements for service quality, professional capacity and corporate health. The shortened
procedures minimise the burden of procurement on both the suppliers
and the council, thereby maximising the likelihood of wide
participation in auctions to drive keener, cost competitive tender
prices for the council. Noting the pressures of home-to-school
travel budgets, alongside the council’s overall financial
position, the recommended approach is considered to be a timely response to capturing
cost-savings in this service area. This approach will apply to
commissioning of services in Summer 2024. Afterwards, the impact of
the approach will be reviewed and opportunities to align with the
forthcoming changes to the Public Contract Regulations 2024 will be
identified.