Cornwall Council says it pays school taxi drivers too much

Home to school transport for pupils is one of the council's biggest outgoings

Cornwall Council has admitted it pays school taxi drivers too much.

It was discussed as part of talks about the council's finances which have been hit by a £16m overspend so far this year.

Home to school transport for pupils is one of the council's biggest outgoings, leading to a £5m overspend during the first half of the financial year.

Tracie Langley, chief operating officer, told the scrutiny committee it was "particularly expensive".

Speaking on driver payments, Cllr Mike McLening said: "Sometimes I get the feeling that perhaps we're not as harsh as we should be when negotiating prices.

"Do we let them get away with a bit on pricing?"

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said Ms Langley responded that he was correct.

However, she added measures were "being put in place to ensure they are paid a fair price but one which could save the council money".

'Demand is growing'

It came to light earlier this year that taxi drivers from as far away as Essex and Shropshire were driving to Cornwall to carry out school runs for pupils.

A spokesperson for the council stressed it was not paying for the relocation of the drivers or their accommodation.

"A company called 24/7 Taxis, who specialise in school transport and operate across multiple local authorities, have established themselves in Cornwall," said the spokesperson.

"The company is employing new drivers locally and their Cornwall operation is based here.

"The demand for school transport is growing and, until now, we have not had enough taxi companies to cater for this need - about 30 transport routes for around 60 to 70 students."