Vecteo, a transport provider contracted by Southend council, is failing children with disabilities.

Southend council set up a transport company, Vecteo, in partnership with London Hire Community Services, a private contractor, after awarding the company a 10 year contract, using hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money. 3 senior officers of the council sat on the board of newly formed company.

Vecteo then left children on the side of the road, parents waiting hours for collection, children with severe safeguarding concerns left unattended or without adequate chaperones - one child had an epileptic fit and was reported “blue” on arrival. 

Vecteo failed to provide adequate staff, meaning disabled children had to get taxis to school. Parents reported taxi drivers leaving children at the side of the road, no handover. They could have wandered off, been abducted, run over. A child was taken to the wrong home on return from school. Parents had reported to have waiting hours for collection, disrupting other family members getting to school, or parents being able to get to work. Many reported that their chaperones (the few they had) were not medically trained in their child’s conditions, something that the previous provider had ensured. 

Many of these children have complex medical or behavioural needs. Little attempt to meet these needs were reported. Many parents described serious safeguarding concerns for those in taxis, or those that were able to go in minibuses. Many parents refused to send children in unaccompanied taxis and so were denied education. 

We would like to see Vecteo stripped of the contract, and don’t believe that having council officers on the board will allow for the scrutiny needed. We would also like to see the current Director of Education at Southend Council, who sits on the board of Vecteo, resign after the serious safeguarding issues and council failures in duty of care. You may outsource a service but you don’t outsource your responsibility. We parents have no confidence in Vecteo or the council's ability to manage the situation.