FOI Request - Welfare Transport for Young Persons

Request 101004002698

I would like to request the following information relating to secure transport, welfare transport and emergency transport services for children, young people and vulnerable adults. Please note this is not for sentenced children requiring custodial escorting or handcuffing.

For clarity, this request relates to transport services used for purposes such as;

Court and legal appearances
Residential and emergency placements (Planned and reactive)
High risk absconders requiring transport
Young persons presenting with self harm, aggressive or distressed behaviours
Hospital, dental or medical appointments
County lines extraction
Similar welfare based transport requirements
Police station pick ups
School runs (Requiring more than 1 staff member supervision)
Transport to secure childrens centres

Please provide for the last 3 financial years:

Total annual spend on:

1. secure transport and specialist welfare transport services.

2. The names of current transport providers used.

3. The number of transport call-outs or referrals per year.

4. Whether transport services are procured via:

a) framework agreements
b) spot purchasing
c) direct awards
d) dynamic purchasing systems (DPS)

5.Whether the authority has experienced shortages or difficulties sourcing suitable transport providers, particularly for out of hours requests.

6. Average response times required for urgent or emergency transport requests.

7. Details of any upcoming procurement exercises relating to these services.

8. Where recorded, the average or typical cost per transport referral/journey.

9. Whether pricing is generally structured by mileage, staffing ratio, hourly rate, fixed fee or other pricing models.