MP calls on Moray Council to clarify position on school bus contract as companies face losses
Moray MP Douglas Ross has expressed concern that local coach operators could be facing significant losses following a legal challenge to Moray Council when it was tendering school bus contracts.
Douglas said: “I immediately raised this issue when a local coach operator contacted me. The company was concerned that having understood they had won the contract, and invested in their business to deliver the service, they now stood to lose out financially due to the tendering process being disrupted by a legal challenge. This seems extremely unfair.”
In response to representations from the Moray MP, Moray Council said that “it has put in place interim arrangements and is currently working with contractors to ensure that sufficient provision will be in place for the start of the school term” and that “the procurement process will restart with a view to awarding longer terms contracts in the new year”.
The Council has also said that “all offers made were subject to a “standstill period” and bidders were advised that anything they undertook at that time was at their own risk as no formal contracts had been offered or accepted. The Council has no liability for commercial decisions made by bidders.”
Douglas added “While this may be true in legal terms it seems very unfair to operators who understood they had been successful. They were left with a very short time-frame to organise the service and had no choice but to move ahead with their arrangements which included making sure they had the right number of coaches and drivers. I’m concerned that coach operators will now think twice before they bid in the future which will be bad for everyone concerned.
“It is now vital that Moray Council clarifies what it is going to do about this situation particularly with respect to coach operators who have been put in such a difficult situation. At the end of the day you have to question why the Council’s procedures were so vulnerable to a legal challenge.
“While I welcome the reassurances that temporary measures will be in place for the start of the school term, the council have to explain how they got into this mess and the additional costs that will result incurred as a result of this.”
Cllr Tim Eagle, Conservative spokesman on the Children and Young People Committee, said: “What we all want is a sustainable service that gets children to school on time and at a reasonable price. It is very important that we avoid a breakdown in relations between the coach companies and the Council. I am urging better communications as my impression is that the coach operators feel they have been left high and dry and don’t know what is going on.”