ProcuraAxisBeta
Sign inCreate Free Account
Home / Opportunities / Opportunity
PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

School and Social Care Transport

Reading Borough Council · Tender notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 25 Sept 2026, 07:06.

Opportunity overview

RBC are completing a Framework exercise for the provision of School and Social Care Transport - The tender is split into two lots: Lot 1 – school transport The Council has a statutory duty to provide free travel assistance to pupils who meet the qualifying criteria. Most of the pupils who qualify receive a bus pass. For children and young people with special educational needs and/or a disability may be eligible to bespoke travel arrangements, such as a taxi or minibus. There are currently 536 pre-16 and 90 post-16 learners receiving transport arranged by the local authority at a forecasted cost of £4.52m for the financial year 2025 – 2026. The current framework used to award contracts to deliver these bespoke arrangements is coming to an end and this is the Council’s opportunity to review how we procure the transport. Full details of the requirement can be found in the Specification at Annex 1. The tender documents contain proposals for the works. Lot 2 - ad hoc transport for children and young people known to social care. From time to time the Council requires transport for children and young people to attend appointments and activities or for when moving placements. Suppliers that would like to take part in this process are invited to "Express Interest" upon which they will be given access to the full documentation delivered through this portal. Documents can be accessed from the "My Tenders" area of this website by selecting the "View Details" button for the project. Expressions of interest will only be accepted until 23:59 07/10/2026. Any questions relating to this opportunity should be made via the correspondence link on this portal.

Classification

  • CPV60100000 — Road transport services
  • CPV85312000 — Social work services without accommodation

Lots

  • School TransportValue not stated
  • Ad hoc transport for children and young people known to social careValue not stated

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
RBC 00002640
Status
active
Procurement Method
open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Main Procurement Category
services
Above Threshold
Yes

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Techniques

Has Framework Agreement
Yes

Framework Agreement

Is Open Framework Scheme
Yes
Method
withReopeningCompetition
Type
closed
Description
The Authority will award Call Off Contracts under this framework using a structured, ranked direct award methodology. All Call Off decisions will be made in accordance with the process set out below and will be fully documented for audit process. Call Off Process: Stage 1. Requirement Identification. When a transport requirement arises, the Authority will define the service need. Stage 2. Provider Suitability Filtering. The Authority will identify a shortlist of Providers capable of delivering the requirements, based on: • Vehicle type and capacity, • Relevant training and safeguarding compliance, • Price (as per tender submission). Stage 3. Offer and acceptance. The Authority will issue a formal Call Off offer to the selected Provider. This will include: • Route details • Pricing basis (as per tender submission) • Start date • Special requirements • The Provider must confirm acceptance or rejection within a defined timeframe (10 working days). Stage 4. Escalation (If declined). If the Provider: • Declines the Call off, or • Fails to respond within the required timeframe • The Authority will proceed to the next suitable qualified Provider in ranking order. This process will continue until the Call off is accepted. Stage 5. Confirmation and award. Once accepted the Authority will: • Issue a formal call off Contract • Confirm service commencement dates • Notify internal stakeholders (Schools, social workers etc)
Open Framework Scheme End Date
4 Jan 2035, 23:59

Submission terms

Electronic Submission Policy
allowed

Languages

en

Tender Period

Ends
7 Oct 2026, 23:59

Expected award period

Ends
6 Nov 2026, 23:59

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Title
School Transport
Description
The Council has a statutory duty to provide free travel assistance to pupils who meet the qualifying criteria. Most of the pupils who qualify receive a bus pass. For children and young people with special educational needs and/or a disability may be eligible to bespoke travel arrangements, such as a taxi or minibus. There are currently 536 pre-16 and 90 post-16 learners receiving transport arranged by the local authority at a forecasted cost of £4.52m for the financial year 2025 – 2026. The current framework used to award contracts to deliver these bespoke arrangements is coming to an end and this is the Council’s opportunity to review how we procure the transport. Full details of the requirement can be found in the Specification at Annex 1. The tender documents contain proposals for the works.
Status
active

Value

Including VAT
0
Amount
0
Currency
GBP

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Type
quality
Name
Quality
Description
This procurement will be applying pass/fail and minimum standard criteria within the quality assurance question. The minimum standard is a score of 60% or higher.

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
50
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 2
Type
price
Name
Pricing
Description
The Bidders with the best cost and validated quality threshold to deliver the training outputs will be selected for the framework.

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
50
Weight
percentageExact

Suitability

Sme
Yes

Contract period

Starts
5 Jan 2027, 00:00
Ends
4 Jan 2035, 23:59
Entry 2
Id
2
Title
Ad hoc transport for children and young people known to social care
Description
From time to time the Council requires transport for children and young people to attend appointments and activities or for when moving placements.
Status
active

Value

Including VAT
0
Amount
0
Currency
GBP

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Type
quality
Name
Quality
Description
This procurement will be applying pass/fail and minimum standard criteria within the quality assurance question. The minimum standard is a score of 60% or higher.

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
50
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 2
Type
price
Name
Pricing
Description
The Bidders with the best cost and validated quality threshold to deliver the training outputs will be selected for the framework.

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
50
Weight
percentageExact

Suitability

Sme
Yes

Contract period

Starts
5 Jan 2027, 00:00
Ends
4 Jan 2035, 23:59

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
60100000
Description
Road transport services
Entry 2
Scheme
CPV
Id
85312000
Description
Social work services without accommodation

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKJ11
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Item 2
Id
2
Related Lot
2

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
60100000
Description
Road transport services
Entry 2
Scheme
CPV
Id
85312000
Description
Social work services without accommodation

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKJ11
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
L-1
Document Type
biddingDocuments
Entry 2
Id
conflictOfInterest
Document Type
conflictOfInterest
Description
Not published
Entry 3
Id
083000-2026
Document Type
tenderNotice
Notice Type
UK4
Description
Tender notice on Find a Tender
Published
2 Sept 2026, 11:52
Format
text/html

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
Reading Borough Council
Id
GB-PPON-PWBJ-9435-VXQQ

Identifier

Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PWBJ-9435-VXQQ

Address

Street Address
Bridge Street
Locality
Reading
Postal Code
RG1 2LU
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKJ11

Contact

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Description
Public authority - sub-central government

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Reading · UKJ11 · RG1 2LU · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKJ11 · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

2 published notice versions reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

2 VERSIONS
  1. 021892-2026Pipeline notice on Find a Tender ·
  2. 083000-2026Tender notice on Find a Tender ·