Item 11 Appendix A
West Dunbartonshire Council · 24 June 2026
Back to Educational Services Committee — 24 June 2026 and its agenda
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Contract Strategy SECTION ONE: Create By: Victoria Wilson Contract Name: ASN School Transport Requesting Service(s): Education, Learning & Attainment (ELA) PCS-T Project Number: SPT are publishing this tender. West Dunbartonshire Council (the Council) will be responsible for reviewing all costs, awarding and managing the contracts including all compliance requirements in line with their own T&Cs through PCS-T. Latest Date for Commencement of Contract: July 2026 Estimated Term of Contract (initial) Inclusive of VAT: 1 Year Estimate d Extensio ns to be Included N/A Estimated Value of Requirement: The amount spent on taxis varies each school session, based on the number of pupils being transported and their specific needs. The available budget is sufficient to cover requirements. Budget Amount: £940,509 annual budget (excluding VAT) Cost Centre(s): D0416, D0315, D0242 Revenue or Capital: Revenue Goods / Works / Services: Services Procurement Route: ☐ Route 1 ☒ Route 2 ☐ Route 3 Procurement Journey Estimated Date of Tendering Committee / Delegated Authority: June / July 2026 For ICT Procurement Only: N/A Budget Holder: Print Name: Andrew Brown Signature: Date: 18/02/2026 Committee Approval: Andrew Brown preparing committee paper for May 2026 committee. Appendix A
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Finance Business Partner (<£1M) / Chief Officer for Resources (>£1M): Print Name: Joe Reilly Signature: Date: 23/02/2026 Procurement Business Partner (<£1M) / PM (>£1M): Print Name: Angus Cameron Signature: Date: 25/02/2026 Procurement Fraud Assessment: Description Select Conclusion Estimated Value: 4 Less than £249,999.99 6 £250K to £999,999.99 10 X From £1M Conflict of Interest: 0 X No conflict of interest declared 2 Forms completed with minimal impact and no further action required 6 Forms completed however substantial declarations made 10 No forms completed Risk from an organised crime group (OCG): ‘At risk’ requirements may include: - construction - waste collection and disposal - transport - green-energy - security services 0 The requirement is not considered 'at risk' 10 X The requirement may be 'at risk' Score and Actions: 20 no referral to Internal Audit 20 or less: Low risk - no referral to Internal Audit More than 20: high risk - send this form to Internal Audit SECTION TWO: Requirement: Scope / Specification: A tendering exercise is required to secure services for non-scheduled and scheduled taxi journeys for the following requirements: ELA To make appropriate provisions to assist pupils with accessing education and for pupils with additional support needs and mainstream pupils to attend an educational establishment. Previous tenders were procured through the Corporate Taxi Framework, which included multiple pupils and routes. During a review, the Council managed to conclude a moderate amount of our routes using our internal transport team. The Council has at least 30 routes to procure which we have identified that Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) could be used. We have used SPT for 1 year and are looking to continue for another 1-year term, allowing us time to
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create our own framework to put in place a longer-term contract from 2027. The Council are also reviewing options for external schools to provide their own provision. The table below highlights the sustainability measures that will be mandated within the scope / specification as mandatory social, environmental or economic requirements: Reviewed and acted on in accordance with the Sustainability in Procurement Guidance - please see the Scottish Government’s Sustainable Procurement Tools: Employment scope / specification Communities scope / specification Equality scope / specification Fair work practices scope / specification Fairly and ethically traded scope / specification Health and safety scope / specification Security and crime prevention scope / specification Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes New or Existing Requirement: Existing If Applicable, the current Supplier(s) / Contractor(s) / Provider(s): Andrew Buist Broomhill Services Clydebank Taxis Community Transport Gladi8tor Taxis OK Taxi Group The Wright Taxi Co Titan Taxis Historical Spend or Income Information: Service Area: Total Expenditure (p.a.): Suppliers / Contractors / Providers: Comments: Education, Learning & Attainment (ELA) £1m Multiple contractors 2025/2026 Education, Learning & Attainment (ELA) £1.4m Multiple contractors SECTION THREE: Process To Be Adopted: Route to Market: A Framework Agreement (FA) is an agreement between one or more contracting authorities and one or more contractors, the purpose of which is to establish the terms governing contracts to be awarded during a given period, in particular with regard to price and, where appropriate, the quantity envisaged. A FA continues to play a role in public procurement including enabling Councils to work together through collaborative bodies. The FA offer a range of routes to market either by selecting a contractor by direct award or by conducting a mini competition Utilising. Option 1: Mini-Competition A framework allows for mini competition, whereby all contractors on the Lot that can service the Council’s area would be required to be invited to participate in the competition. The benefits with running a mini competition are, it can create multiple opportunities and increased competition from contractors, and it can save time when procuring works.
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Option 2: e-Auction E-Auctions are not possible while the current climate prices for fuel are always rising. Option 3: Direct Award(s) A Framework Agreement allows for a direct award procedure. The benefits with direct award are, it is a straightforward process which can reduce project timelines and offer a compliant route to market. It allows all parties to gain trust with one another and work collaboratively. The disadvantages are it can potentially remove the option to generate additional savings with removal of competition. While reviewing any possible frameworks with the client it was noted that the only available option for our requirement would be to procure through SPT DPS and invite our current taxi operators to join the DPS beforehand allowing them to have the opportunity to bid within the route to market. Option 4: Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) A Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is an agreement that allows the Council to call off from by conducting mini-competitions only and it allows for new suppliers to join at any time during their operation. Strathclyde Partnership Transport (SPT) Strathclyde Partnership Transport (SPT) currently have a DPS available to call off from for our ASN Taxi requirements. They will conduct a mini-competition on behalf of the Council, allowing all the current local Taxi companies to join prior to issuing out the tender. Recommendation: To utilise SPT DPS for 1 year due to our timescales then during this time look at creating our own framework which we can call off for a longer period. SPT Procurement are the only ones who can directly access DPS, as it’s embedded within the PCS-T system. The Council to provide a simple spreadsheet along with reviewed TCs direct to SPT Procurement for tendering which will be uploaded for bidders to provide a cost per contract which will be published via Axiom. Points to note: • WDC would be responsible for ensuring accuracy when providing their ASN requirements and T & C’s direct to Procurement. • After the Advert’s closing date, Procurement would provide WDC with the same spreadsheet with any operator’s costs added (this would be a different format from last year as the costs would not be through SPT Assessor). • WDC would be responsible for reviewing all costs, awarding and managing the contracts including all compliance requirements in line with their own T & C’s. Additional Social Benefits: The DPS has been let by Strathclyde Partnership Transport (SPT) and the Council will follow the guidance and principles contained within the terms of the DPS. Equalities: Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) Screening completed by Service? Yes Carried out by Andrew Brown Full EIA required? No Full EIA completed? No
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Purchase to Pay: PECOS System: Yes • Punch-out: No • Catalogue order: No • Non catalogue order: No • E-Invoicing: No • Manual invoices: Yes • BACS: No • Embedded purchasing card: No • Faster payment options: No Full Corporate Procurement Card: Yes Terms and Conditions / Form of Contract: The terms and conditions will be those of the existing WDC ASN taxi framework. Legal Services amended and reviewed our previous T&C’s for the Council and we have issued these to be binding along side each individual contract through the call off. GDPR: The Council has client information that records and shares details internally with authorised personnel. This is GDPR compliant and regularly tested by West Dunbartonshire ICT security team and in line with Council’s retention procedures. In addition; the Council has a comprehensive set of documentation for gathering and sharing information. Our process ensures all appropriate permission levels are in place and service users are clear about why we gather information, what we use it for and who we will share it with. Award Criteria: Quality (Technical Evaluation) Criteria - 10%: Total Cost of Ownership / Price (Commercial) Criteria - 90%: Criteria applied to all school tenders under SPT SECTION FIVE: Planned Cashable Savings Target: If the value of the contract is below the budget for the same period, all savings will be retained as efficiencies.
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