SEND transport questioned during meeting
The topic was discussed
Questions are being asked about Dorset Council’s annual £18.5million budget to take children with additional needs to and from school.
A breakdown show some taxi firms and bus operators being paid staggering sums – one company taking over £1.7million and two being paid over £1.2m over a year.
Transport costs for SEND pupils have increased over four years by around 77per cent from just over £10million a year.
Former Shaftesbury town councillor Karen Tippins is asking whether there has been proper scrutiny of the rising figures by Dorset Council and if adequate steps are being taken to control them.
The authority has tried, in the past, to rationalise the transport system for SEND pupils by suggesting common pick-up points for pupils living relatively close to each other and rationalising routes for taxis and buses – but in many cases there has been push-back from parents, preferring to keep what for many amounts to a individual taxi service for school trips.
Said Ms Tippins “What struck me most is not the £18.5 million annual cost, but the contrast between traditional transport costs and Personal Travel Budgets * (see note).
“Dorset Council’s own figures show that conventional SEND transport costs around £16,000 per pupil, whereas Personal Travel Budgets have averaged around £5,273 per pupil. At the same time, the Council has confirmed there are still 362 single-occupancy routes.”
She says that raises a legitimate question about whether all reasonable opportunities to reduce costs have been explored, particularly given the national debate about councils using alternative arrangements to reduce reliance on taxis and minibuses.
“For me, the key issue is transparency and scrutiny. SEND pupils must receive appropriate support, but when transport expenditure has increased by around 77% in four years, taxpayers are entitled to understand what is driving those costs and what options are being considered to manage them.”
A Freedom of Information request made by her shows that Dorset Council has over 1,030 SEND transport routes currently operated – with 362 classed as single occupancy SEND routes at the end of March 2026.
The figures show the average annual cost per SEND transport route is £16,372 for 2025-26, with the highest annual cost for an individual SEND transport route at £75,710.
In response to the information request Dorset Council said its SEND Travel Reviewing Team had achieved “significant savings and cost avoidance” and that councillors have discussed the issue of SEND transport costs many times.
For the academic year 2024/ 2025 £490,494.86 is attributed to what the council classes as cost savings, and £132,842.38 to what it describes as cost avoidance, while in the 2025/ 2026 academic year so far £201,709.19 is attributed to cost savings, and £229,574.69 to cost avoidance.
The council response lists a number of meetings when SEND transport provision was discussed including a report in September 2025 which was taken as an exempt item because it contained confidential financial information.