Financial strain on Cumberland’s school transport due to rising demand

Cumberland Council’s Home To School Transport service continues to face increased financial pressure due to increased demand and a rise in numbers of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), councillors have been told.

Members of the people overview and scrutiny committee met at Allerdale House in Workington on Friday (June 26) to get an update from Andy Smart who is the council’s senior manager for home to school transport.

He told members they had requested a six-month update 12 months ago but it had been delayed and added: “We are still well overspent in terms of the budget.”

According to his presentation, the data indicates a rise mostly in SEND demand which is in line with increasing numbers of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) both in the council area and nationally. It added: “The data demonstrates a 34 per cent increase in SEND demand from December 2024 to March 2026.”

In June 2023 there were 572 SEND pupils but the number had risen to 816 by March 2026.

During the same period the number using the service rose from 5,033 to 5,097.

And, according to the report, costs for Social Care Exceptional Transport have risen from £536 per day in 2024/25 to £1512 per day in 2025/26 which represents an increase of 182 per cent.

According to the report the SEND and Home to School Transport budget for the third quarter of 2025/26 was £13.771million however the actual spend was £15.638million which represents a variance of £1.867million.

Mr Smart said that the numbers with SEND were predicted to increase and his report states that they are due to rise from 610 pupils in 2025 to 990 in 2029 which represents an increased spend of £3.404million.

He said that nationally pupils who were entitled to home to school transport was six per cent and it was ‘twice that in Cumberland’ and savings had been made by various means.

A Transformation Programme aimed at identifying the areas where savings can be made in the service was started and in 2024/25 the savings target was £1.25million with the savings forecast was £1.96million and for the third quarter 2025/26 the savings target was £1million with a savings forecast of £2.40million.

The savings breakdown for the third quarter of 2025/26 represents: £1,336,409 from high-cost route reviews; £545,274 personal travel budgets; £9995 from Shuttle ID; £500,000 from west area tenders; and £15,096 from spare seats.

However, the west area tenders has the potential to increase following final calculations at end of the fourth quarter according to the report.

The report states: “The recent re-tender exercise during 2025/26 in the west area demonstrated further efficiencies, with tender costs significantly lower than expected in comparison with the national trend.

“This represents the value of the work the team has undertaken in improved market management with operators and sustained challenge to costs. Team currently forecasting additional savings for 2026/27 as at June 2026, with further opportunities to explore in the coming months for September.”

Councillor Helen Davison (Belah, Green Party) asked how the savings were made from spare seats and she was told they were sold to pupils who were not entitled to the service and they existed because the buses had more seats than were required.

Mr Smart said that the overspend existed because the budget was not correctly set in the first place and he was working with officers to rectify the situation.

Martin Birch, the council’s director of children and family wellbeing, told members that they had been approached by other local authorities to see how the savings had been made.