Purpose

Award to the taxi framework for the provision
of travel care and support services in H&F.

Decision

The Deputy Leader
approves: 
 

Appendices 1 and 2
are not for publication on the basis that they contain information
relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding
that information) as set out in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the
Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).  

 

The appointment of
the preferred bidders to Lot 1 - Regular and Scheduled Taxi
Provision of the Travel Care Taxi Framework for the duration of the
four-year Framework.  

 

The appointment of
the preferred bidders to Lot 2 - Ad-hoc Taxi Provision of the
Travel Care Taxi Framework for the duration of the four-year
Framework. 

 

The following
selection and approval methods for the award of call-off contracts
for both Lot 1 - Regular and Scheduled Taxi Provision and Lot 2 -
Ad-hoc Taxi Provision:  

 
a.   
That the ranking of taxi suppliers (as detailed in
the exempt Appendix 1 of this report) be used to directly award all
call-off taxi contracts for both Lot 1 - Regular and Scheduled Taxi
Provision and Lot 2 - Ad-hoc Taxi Provision according to their
ranked positions, unless a mini-competition is required as outlined
in the recommendation b below.  
 
b.   
That for out-of-Borough, longer distance, and
TUPE-related contracts, and when in the Council’s interests
to do so, suppliers on the relevant Lot of the Framework will be
invited to participate in a mini-competition instead of as outlined
in recommendation a. above.  
 
c.    
That the decision to award and enter into a call-off contract, valued at
£100,000 and under, be delegated to the Head of Travel
Care. 
 
d.   
Should any taxi contract be valued at £100,000
or more, that this contract will be awarded by the Head of Travel
Care in consultation with the Director of Commissioning,
Transformation and Partnerships.  
 

The commencement of
the 4-year Framework beginning on or around 1 August
2025.  

 
 

Reasons for the decision

1.    
The Local Authority has a statutory duty to provide home to school
transport provisions as per the Education Act 1996. The Council has
a Travel Assistance Policy which clearly sets out these duties,
together with further information via the Local
Offer.  
 

2.    
For Adults, the Care Act 2014 stipulates a duty to Local
Authorities to meet assessed needs, and while transport is not
prescribed provision, it may be one way of meeting people’s
assessed needs and preferences relating to their personal outcomes
towards independence and engagement with the community. Spend
within Adult Social Care is of low value and ad hoc in
nature.   
 

3.    
The framework which services the existing taxi contracts expires in
August 2025 with no option to extend. 
 

Alternative options considered

Option 1 – Appoint recommended
providers to the Travel Care Taxi Framework
(recommended) 
 

1.    
A rigorous evaluation process took place to ensure that only those
suitable to provide a quality service would be appointed on to the
framework. The evaluation panel included several Officers and a
parent representative from Parents Active who were able to bring
their expertise to evaluate relevant questions.  
 

2.    
Following appointment onto the Framework, individual contracts will
be awarded to the highest scoring taxi supplier (based on combined
quality and cost) within each Lot and vehicle category. Where the
highest scoring supplier is unable to meet this demand (subject to
their capacity and availability) the contract will be awarded to
the second highest scoring supplier and so on. This process is
referred to as a ‘call-off’.  
 

3.    
Ad-hoc taxi journeys will be called-off as and when they are
required according to the Lot 2 league table rankings which can be
found in the exempt section of this report. 
 
Option 2 – Do not appoint recommended
providers to the Travel Care Taxi Framework (not
recommended) 
  

4.    
This option is not recommended. The Local Authority would not be
able to meet its statutory duties and there is no viable
alternative. Carrying out a fresh procurement exercise would mean
that there is no contract vehicle in place for the Council to use
to place its requirements for these services, given that the
current framework has expired.