Adult Social Care Transport FAQs

The following information answers some frequently asked questions about Adult Social Care Transport timescales and processes.

Timescales

Stage 1; assessment of eligibility

Adult social care teams assess people for eligibility to transport as part of Care Act 2014 reviews.

The process includes checking if people can make their own way to and from placements, either by travelling independently or with support from others. Some people are referred for independent travel training.

For those where an eligible need for Essex County Council provided travel has been identified, transport requests are submitted to the Integrated Passenger Transport Unit.

Stage 2; transport allocation

The Integrated Passenger Transport Unit manages transport provision and allocates passengers to appropriate services.

Only planned, long-term adult social care transport is offered.

Short notice, urgent, temporary or one-off journeys are not provided by the Integrated Passenger Transport Unit. Where these are required people should contact the Adult Social Care Duty Team directly.

Transport requests are processed strictly in order of receipt.

These timescales apply to new transport requests, and for people with existing transport who have a change of address, placement location, or requirements.

Following receipt of accurate and fully completed transport requests, it can take up to 10 working days to allocate people to a transport service. For requests received during peak July-October months, transport allocation can take longer than 10 working days.

When people cannot be allocated to existing transport provision, new contracted services are required. Additional procurement processes normally take an extra 10-20 working days.

Adult social care teams are informed of travel arrangements and share details with passengers.

Stage 3; transport provision

Adult social care transport is either provided by Essex County Council’s own fleet, or operated by external companies on our behalf.

Transport providers can take up to 10 working days to arrange travel. During peak July-October months this may take considerably longer.

Processes include sourcing new vehicles, employing and training additional staff, planning routes, and adjusting arrangements for existing passengers to accommodate others.

Transport providers contact passengers and their families directly to confirm pick-up and drop-off times.

Customer contact response times

Passengers, their families, placements and adult social care teams should carefully read all information on this page and our Advice page before contacting the Integrated Passenger Transport Unit with enquiries.

Emails sent to us about things already explained on these pages, or included within our email auto-responses, are unlikely to receive further replies.

Emails sent to us requesting progress updates within advised timescales, are unlikely to receive replies. Please note that transport is not arranged urgently or at short notice.

For other email enquiries, we aim to respond within 10 working days. For those received during peak July-October months, it can take longer to respond.

Please contact transport providers directly with any feedback or questions about operational aspects of existing or new travel services.