Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Education, in relation to letters issued by the Education Authority to private taxi operators for school pupils’ home to school transport service, stating that contracts would be terminated and re-tendered unless operators agree to reduce their invoiced rates by 10 per cent, for his assessment of whether (i) this was a reasonable request given rising fuel prices and operating costs; (ii) these changes place undue pressure on operators and drivers; and (iii) these changes would be a breach of contract by the Education Authority. [Priority Written]
Minister of Education: The Education Authority (EA) is responsible for the operation and delivery of home to school transport, which includes the procurement and management of contracts held with private taxi operators. Due to the scale of the anticipated shortfall in the EA’s overall budget this year, it has had to make challenging decisions aimed at reducing costs while maintaining essential services.
The EA’s request of taxi operators to voluntarily reduce their invoiced rates by 10% followed an in-depth analysis of current contracts, benchmarking cost per mile against the maximum fare rates for metered taxi transport, which are set out in legislation and were updated in December 2023 to reflect rising costs in the taxi industry. This analysis identified significant variations in fare rates between operators and whilst DfI maximum fare rates for metered journeys form a benchmark only as they do not apply to EA contracts, many operators are charging significantly more than the referenced rates.
(i) I would like to acknowledge that taxi operators play a vital role in delivering home to school transport for some of our most vulnerable children. However, the rising cost of taxi transport is a significant concern for my Department and the EA. In writing to all taxi operators, the EA is seeking their cooperation in reducing costs to protect the transport service and ensure that as many pupils as possible can access transport to school. The EA assures me it is taking a balanced and considered approach in reviewing the responses received from taxi operators.
(ii) The EA acknowledges the concerns raised by operators and drivers and it is committed to working closely with them. It informs me that early engagement has been positive with a number of operators contacting EA with savings proposals.
(iii) The EA has confirmed that it has not breached any contract in making this request and no contracts have been terminated to date. The terms and conditions of contracts under the Dynamic Purchasing System allow the Authority to terminate contracts if necessary.
ENDS
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