Bristol City Council’s Children’s Services has a deficit of £23m this year, excluding the car crash SEND deficit. Efforts at ‘transformation’ of the service have predictably failed to make the savings touted by bosses and consultants.

According to a recent report to councillors about Home to School Travel, “The Children’s Transformation programme is currently forecasting a delivery of £4m of the £6.2m [savings] target in 24/25.”

Undershooting target by 35 per cent, thanks, are due to corporate consultants PwC who, in 2022, council bosses paid £444k for a secret unpublished report into, er, savings in Home to School Travel. 

When do we get our money back?