SEND Connect: SEND Home-to-School and College Travel – Parent Carer Questions, Answers and Next Steps 18.09.26
On Wednesday 16 September 2026, Oxfordshire Parent Carers Forum (OxPCF) hosted an online SEND Connect session with representatives from Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) to discuss SEND home-to-school and college travel.
We were joined by:
Alexandra O’Hanlon, Head of Fleet & Transport Services, Supported Travel, Property & Assets, Resources Directorate, Oxfordshire County Council
Jaswinder Didially, Assistant Director – Schools and Settings (Sufficiency), Children, Education and Families, Oxfordshire County Council
Teresa Goodgame, Interim Service Manager – School Admissions and Transport, Oxfordshire County Council
Cllr Sean Gaul, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Oxfordshire County Council
Together, they presented an overview of the Supported Travel process, the issues experienced at the start of the academic year and the changes OCC is making, before responding to questions from parent carers.
Current position
We had hoped to have responses from OCC to all of the remaining questions in time to include them in this update. Unfortunately, an unexpected absence within the Supported Travel team has delayed this.
We are expecting to receive the outstanding answers early next week and will update this blog as soon as we have them.
We know this will be frustrating for families who are still waiting for answers, particularly where travel arrangements remain unresolved. We will continue to follow this up with OCC and share further information as soon as it is available.
The session followed a difficult start to the 2026/27 academic year for a number of families. Parent carers had contacted us about children and young people whose travel was not in place, arrangements that were unsuitable or had unexpectedly changed, difficulties getting responses from OCC, Personal Travel Budgets (PTBs), Post-16 travel and other concerns.
Ahead of the session, 256 parent carers responded to our SEND Home-to-School/College Travel Survey. We identified 15 recurring issues and shared these with OCC. We also used the feedback, alongside information provided by OCC, to produce a practical troubleshooting guide for families.
Representatives from OCC joined the session to explain the Supported Travel process, what had happened at the start of the academic year and some of the improvements being made. Cllr Sean Gaul, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, also joined the discussion.
The first part of the session was a presentation from OCC, followed by around an hour of questions and discussion.
This blog brings together the key information from the presentation, verbal Q&A and meeting chat. Similar questions have been grouped together and individual cases and identifying information have been removed.
Where OCC provided a clear answer during the session, we have included it. Where a question was only partly answered, or an answer was not available, we have identified what remains outstanding.
We have asked OCC to respond to the outstanding questions as soon as possible and will update this blog when we receive further information.
How the Supported Travel process should work
OCC began by explaining the journey from a child or young person’s education placement being agreed through to travel eligibility, assessment and, where appropriate, a travel arrangement being put in place.
Eligibility and travel assessment
OCC explained that education placement and eligibility for council-funded travel are separate decisions.
Once a school or other education placement has been agreed, eligibility for supported travel is considered by OCC’s eligibility team.
Eligibility may be assessed or reassessed when a child or young person first enters the system, a new placement is agreed, there is a change of home address, at a significant transition or phase transfer, or when a young person moves into Post-16 education.
For children and young people with an EHCP, OCC explained that a travel request will usually be raised following confirmation of the placement and passed to the eligibility team for consideration.
Eligibility is considered against OCC’s Home to School Travel policy. Depending on individual circumstances, this can include factors such as:
home address and education setting;
distance between home and the setting;
whether there is a safe walking route;
special educational needs;
mobility or medical needs; and
other relevant individual circumstances.
If travel is agreed, the process moves to assessing and arranging appropriate travel. If eligibility is refused, families should receive information about the decision and appeals process.
Travel Information Form (TIF)
OCC explained that providing additional information about a child or young person’s travel needs is not entirely new. The previous Extra Information Form has now been replaced by a more detailed Travel Information Form (TIF).
The TIF can gather information about:
health and medical needs;
mobility and equipment;
communication;
sensory needs;
behaviour;
safeguarding considerations;
individual support needs; and
the days on which travel is required.
OCC said the intention is to identify individual needs and risks earlier so that an appropriate travel arrangement can be considered from the outset.
OCC also confirmed that highlighting the TIF and travel process earlier, including around EHCP annual reviews and transition planning, is one of the changes it intends to take forward.
Deciding what travel support is appropriate
Once the necessary information has been received, OCC carries out a travel assessment.
OCC explained that there is not one form of supported travel that is appropriate for every child or young person. Options considered can include:
Independent Travel Training;
a Personal Travel Budget;
OCC’s internal fleet; or
externally commissioned transport, such as a taxi or bus.
The assessment considers the child or young person’s individual circumstances and what would provide safe and suitable travel. Where shared transport is being considered, OCC also considers whether children and young people can appropriately travel together.
Personal Travel Budgets and interim support
OCC explained that Personal Travel Budgets (PTBs) have replaced the previous Direct Travel Payment model and are intended to give families greater flexibility to make suitable arrangements themselves where this is appropriate.
OCC is also using interim PTBs in some circumstances where permanent travel is not yet in place.
During the session, OCC acknowledged that an initial amount offered may not always cover the actual cost of the travel a family needs to arrange. Families can provide evidence of the actual cost, such as a taxi quote, and ask OCC to review the amount offered.
OCC also explained that an interim arrangement may sometimes be offered for a period such as up to half term while permanent transport is being organised.
How commissioned transport is arranged
Where a taxi, bus or other commissioned arrangement is assessed as appropriate, OCC explained that a Transport Coordinator considers what is needed.
This can include:
the type of vehicle;
driver and Passenger Assistant requirements;
accessibility and equipment;
the child or young person’s individual needs;
whether shared travel is appropriate;
geographical routes; and
whether OCC’s internal fleet or an external provider should be used.
Where an external provider is required, the journey may then need to go through OCC’s procurement process before a contract is awarded and the arrangement confirmed.
The 30 June operational deadline
OCC explained that 30 June is an operational deadline intended to provide sufficient time for applications to be processed and travel to be arranged before the beginning of the new academic year.
Different arrangements take different lengths of time to establish, particularly where externally commissioned transport needs to go through assessment and procurement.
OCC said this is why they cannot guarantee that applications received after the deadline will have permanent travel in place for the beginning of term.
However, parent carers highlighted that an application being recorded after 30 June does not necessarily mean a family could have applied earlier. Examples included placements not being agreed until after the deadline, EHCP processes not being completed and Post-16 timetables not yet being available.
OCC acknowledged that families cannot provide information they do not yet have and said they are working more closely with colleagues across Children’s Services to identify these situations and offer interim Personal Travel Budgets where placements were confirmed after the 30th June.
Post-16 travel
OCC explained that they need confirmation of the days a young person will attend their education setting before permanent travel arrangements can be finalised.
A particular difficulty this year has been that some college timetables were not available until close to, or after, the start of term. Parent carers highlighted that the timing of college timetables is outside families’ control.
OCC clarified that Post-16 applications were not considered late where timetables were unavailable. However, permanent travel arrangements could not be finalised until attendance days were confirmed.
OCC has also begun contacting some families individually to confirm attendance days rather than relying solely on formal timetables. Around half of the outstanding timetables have now been received, enabling OCC to finalise travel arrangements for more than 200 young people by the end of Friday 18th September, with the aim of finalising arrangements for a further 100 by the end of the following week.
Changes OCC said they are making
OCC described a number of changes intended to improve the Supported Travel service.
These included:
starting planning earlier. Historically, the review of travel arrangements for around 8,500 families has begun in May. OCC said that beginning this process from January will provide more time to review and process arrangements, with the aim of families knowing their travel arrangements for the 2027/28 academic year earlier;
introducing named Transport Coordinators and clearer points of contact;
closer working between SEND, eligibility and Supported Travel;
identifying new placements and priority cases earlier;
greater use of contract-extension options where an existing arrangement is working appropriately;
clearer and more regular communication with families;
considering interim arrangements sooner where permanent travel will not be ready; and
continuing its wider three-year Supported Travel improvement programme.
Parent carers welcomed some of these proposed changes, particularly earlier planning. However, the discussion also highlighted the gap between how the process is intended to work and the experience some families have had this September.
The Q&A below brings together the questions raised, the answers provided during the session and the areas where we have asked OCC for further information.
Parent Carer Questions & Answers
1. What went wrong this September, and how many children and young people were affected?
Parent carers asked
One of the strongest questions was what had actually gone wrong at the start of the 2026/27 academic year and why the process described during OCC’s presentation did not reflect what some families had experienced.
Examples included:
continuing travellers unexpectedly having no transport;
families who believed they had completed everything required still having no arrangement;
transport being confirmed but not arriving;
duplicate arrangements;
providers and families receiving different information; and
information apparently not moving correctly between OCC teams, education settings and transport providers.
Families also asked how many children and young people had been affected and how many were still waiting.
What OCC told us
OCC described a combination of factors, including the volume of work being completed over the summer, later applications and placements, outstanding Post-16 information and the need to review and procure a large number of travel arrangements.
OCC said the service supports approximately 8,500 children and young people overall.
Several figures relating to different groups of outstanding cases were discussed during the session. As these were changing while arrangements continued to be processed, we have asked OCC to provide an updated position.
OCC also acknowledged that some individual circumstances raised during the session did not fit neatly within the wider explanations and needed further investigation.
For continuing travellers whose circumstances had not changed but whose transport had not restarted, OCC indicated that this should not simply have happened because of the introduction of the TIF.
What we have asked OCC to clarify
We have asked OCC to provide:
a fuller explanation of what went wrong, including any system, process, capacity, communication, information-sharing or commissioning issues identified;
the latest number of children and young people still awaiting permanent arrangements;
clearer information about the different groups within the outstanding figures;
an explanation of what happened to continuing travellers whose arrangements did not restart;
whether affected continuing travellers can be proactively identified; and
what action is being taken to prevent the same problems happening again.
2. When will outstanding travel arrangements and unanswered enquiries be resolved?
Parent carers asked
Families repeatedly asked:
When will the current backlog of travel arrangements be cleared?
Some asked whether they should expect permanent arrangements by the end of September, half term, Christmas or another date.
Families also described waiting weeks for responses to emails and asked when the communication backlog would be cleared.
What OCC told us
For Travel Information Forms received between 1 July and 31 August, OCC said its aim is for children and young people to have travel arrangements in place by the end of the October half-term break, ready for their return to school or college after the break. OCC said that, wherever possible, arrangements would be put in place earlier.
This timescale applies specifically to Travel Information Forms received during that period. OCC explained that applications continue to enter the service throughout the year and did not provide an overall date by which alloutstanding travel arrangements would be resolved.
OCC said additional staff had been brought in to help triage and work through the Supported Travel inbox and confirmed that emails were being logged and cases investigated.
What we have asked OCC to clarify
We have asked for:
realistic indicative timescales for resolving current outstanding arrangements;
the current position with the email backlog;
expected response times;
how much additional capacity has been put into resolving the backlog;
whether additional staffing is temporary or ongoing; and
how families will receive individual updates while they wait.
3. What should families do if they have had no response or need to provide new information?
Parent carers asked
Families described repeatedly emailing or calling because they had received no acknowledgement or update.
OCC asked families not to repeatedly resend the same enquiry, but parents questioned what they should do if they have genuinely new information, their circumstances have changed or they now need to make an additional request.
Families also asked for a clear escalation route where an urgent issue remains unanswered.
What OCC told us
However, if a family has received no contact at all from OCC about their child or young person’s 2026/27 travel arrangements, OCC has asked them to email with the subject line:
“No contact received for my child’s travel arrangements – [child’s name]”
OCC said it has contacted families using the email or postal contact details held on its system. If a family has received no communication at all, OCC wants to hear from them so it can check whether there is an issue with the contact details held or whether a technical or other issue has prevented the communication from reaching them.
This is different from resending or chasing an enquiry that OCC has already received.
A clear parent-facing escalation process for other unanswered enquiries was not provided during the session.
What we have asked OCC to clarify
We have asked OCC to explain:
how families should add genuinely new information to an existing enquiry;
when an unanswered enquiry should be escalated;
who families should contact;
what constitutes an urgent case;
expected response times following escalation; and
what families should do if an escalation also remains unanswered.
4. How will OCC support families who cannot repeatedly chase?
An important concern was what happens to families who may be less confident advocating, have communication or accessibility needs, cannot attend sessions such as SEND Connect, or simply do not have the capacity to repeatedly email and telephone.
Parent carers questioned whether those able to escalate most strongly were more likely to get their case looked at.
OxPCF response
We think this is an important accessibility and equity issue.
A system should not depend on how frequently or confidently a family can chase it.
What we have asked OCC to clarify
We have asked OCC to explain:
how outstanding cases are proactively identified and prioritised;
whether the frequency with which a family contacts the service affects prioritisation;
what reasonable adjustments are available; and
how families who cannot continually chase will be protected from being disadvantaged.
5. What happens while permanent travel is being arranged?
Parent carers asked
Families wanted to know what happens where a child or young person has been found eligible for supported travel but their permanent arrangement is not yet ready, particularly where this means they cannot access their education.
What OCC told us
OCC described interim Personal Travel Budgets (PTBs) as one option that may be available.
Families wishing to request an interim PTB should email:
using:
REQUEST PTB
in the subject line.
Families who previously declined a PTB but now need one on an interim basis can also contact the team to request this.
What we have asked OCC to clarify
We have asked:
what other interim options are available;
when interim support should be proactively offered;
how quickly it should be put in place;
how families will know how long an interim arrangement is expected to last; and
what happens where an eligible child or young person cannot access education because permanent travel is not yet available.
6. What if a PTB is not enough, and what travel costs can families claim back?
What OCC told us
OCC confirmed that where a PTB does not reflect the actual cost of travel, families can provide evidence such as a taxi quote and ask for the amount to be reviewed.
For reimbursement of travel already provided, families should email:
using:
REIMBURSEMENT CLAIM
in the subject line.
What remains unanswered?
We have asked OCC:
how quickly a request for an increased PTB will be reviewed;
whether families should arrange and pay for a taxi before OCC has confirmed that the increased cost will be covered;
what happens where a family cannot afford to fund the difference while waiting;
what costs can be reimbursed;
what evidence is required;
what mileage rate applies;
whether taxi costs can be reimbursed;
what happens where costs were incurred before an interim PTB was offered; and
how long reimbursement should take.
We have also asked what complaints, reimbursement or other redress routes are available where problems with travel have resulted in wider financial loss or missed education.
7. Why are some families being treated as “late”, and why have TIFs been requested inconsistently?
Parent carers asked
Families described being considered late where:
a placement was not confirmed until after 30 June;
an annual review or phase-transfer process happened after the deadline;
a Post-16 timetable did not yet exist;
information had already been supplied to another OCC team;
information had been submitted but was subsequently recorded as outstanding; or
a timetable changed after an application was made.
Families also described inconsistent experiences with the TIF.
What OCC told us
OCC acknowledged that some circumstances are outside families’ control and described closer working between Supported Travel and SEND colleagues to identify these cases.
OCC also confirmed that highlighting travel and the TIF earlier through annual reviews and transition planning is one of the changes it intends to make.
OxPCF response
We have raised concerns about language which can inadvertently imply families are responsible for delays.
There needs to be a clear distinction between an application a family could reasonably have made earlier and one delayed by placement decisions, timetables, internal processes or circumstances outside their control.
What we have asked OCC to clarify
We have asked:
how these circumstances will be identified;
how families will be protected from being disadvantaged by delays outside their control;
exactly when a TIF is required for continuing travellers;
when a new TIF needs to be completed;
how families can confirm that a submitted TIF has been received; and
how earlier planning through annual reviews and transitions will work in practice.
8. How will Post-16 travel work when timetables are not available?
Parent carers asked
Families questioned how they could meet a June operational deadline when colleges may not provide final timetables until much later.
What OCC told us
OCC acknowledged that families cannot provide information that does not yet exist and said it had begun contacting some families directly to establish attendance days rather than relying solely on formal timetables.
What we have asked OCC to clarify
We have asked OCC to set out a clear future process where:
a timetable is not available by the operational deadline;
a timetable changes after an application is submitted; or
a college cannot confirm attendance days until close to the beginning of term.
9. What happens when transport is confirmed but the arrangement or provider information is wrong?
Families described situations where OCC had named a provider but the provider had no record of the arrangement, transport had been confirmed but no vehicle arrived, duplicate arrangements were made, or contracts appeared to be much shorter than families expected.
What we have asked OCC to clarify
We have asked OCC to explain:
how contract and route information is checked before arrangements are confirmed;
how information is shared between OCC, providers and education settings;
how providers can urgently raise problems;
what families should do where OCC and the provider give different information;
why some current contracts are short-term;
what happens when a short-term contract ends; and
how families will be informed about changes.
10. How can existing travel arrangements and risk assessments be reviewed?
Parent carers asked
Some families said an existing arrangement was no longer suitable for their child or young person. Others described asking for a review or risk assessment without receiving a response.
What OCC told us
OCC explained that it had not been possible to apply the new assessment process retrospectively to every existing traveller during one summer and that existing arrangements will be reviewed as the approach develops.
What we have asked OCC to clarify
We have asked for a clear process for:
requesting a review of an existing arrangement;
requesting or reviewing a travel risk assessment;
finding out what information OCC currently holds;
expected response times; and
prioritising urgent safety, safeguarding or wellbeing concerns.
11. How will OCC teams work together and improve the process?
Parent carers asked
Families questioned why information already provided to one part of OCC did not always appear to reach another and why different teams sometimes appeared to hold different information.
Questions were also raised about training for additional customer-service staff and whether families could have a way of tracking the progress of their travel application.
What OCC told us
OCC described planned improvements including:
closer working between SEND, eligibility and Supported Travel;
earlier identification of placements and priority cases;
starting more planning from January;
introducing dedicated named Transport Coordinators and Travel Assessment Officers for families and schools, providing a direct link to the people arranging a child or young person’s travel. Schools will have the same named contacts, helping to provide a clearer and more consistent point of contact;[Al4]
clearer communication;
earlier consideration of interim arrangements; and
its wider three-year Supported Travel improvement programme.
What we have asked OCC to clarify
We have asked:
how information will move between teams in practice;
how late and out-of-county placements will be identified;
how families will be prevented from repeatedly supplying the same information;
what training and guidance staff answering enquiries receive;
how consistent information will be ensured; and
whether families could have access to some form of online application tracking or status information.
A parent carer suggested that this could show stages such as:
Received → Eligibility confirmed → TIF received → Travel assessment → Arrangement/procurement → Transport confirmed
OxPCF thinks this is a useful suggestion for OCC to explore.
12. What happens if travel eligibility is refused?
OCC explained that where eligibility is refused, families should receive information about the decision and the appeals process.
However, a general answer about appeal timescales was not provided during the session.
What we have asked OCC to clarify
We have asked for:
the stages of the appeals process;
the expected timescale for each stage;
how families will be updated;
what families should do if timescales are exceeded; and
whether any interim support can be considered while an appeal is outstanding.
What reviews will take place into what happened?
Parent carers also asked how OCC would learn from the problems experienced this September and whether there would be wider scrutiny of what happened.
Cabinet-level lessons-learned work
During the session, Cllr Sean Gaul said there would be Cabinet-level work to understand what happened and identify lessons from the difficulties experienced.
He indicated that he wanted the learning from this work to be communicated externally rather than remaining solely an internal exercise.
Education and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Cllr Gaul also referred to a planned deep dive by the Education and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
During the session, he explained that scrutiny is separate from Cabinet, can examine the issues and make recommendations, and that scrutiny work is published.
What OxPCF has asked
OxPCF welcomes further scrutiny and lessons-learned work. It is important that this looks not only at individual cases but at the wider system and the recurring experiences families have reported.
We would particularly like the work to consider:
what happened to continuing travellers whose arrangements did not restart;
why some families who provided information on time were subsequently recorded as late or incomplete;
communication and unanswered enquiries;
information-sharing between OCC teams, education settings and providers;
Post-16 timetable issues;
commissioning and provider communication;
the introduction and administration of the TIF;
interim arrangements and PTBs;
the impact on children and young people’s access to education;
the financial and practical impact on families; and
whether families who were less able to repeatedly chase or escalate were disadvantaged.
We have asked for further information about:
the scope of the Cabinet-level lessons-learned work;
who will lead it;
expected timescales;
whether findings and actions will be published;
the scope and timing of the Scrutiny Committee deep dive;
how parent carers and OxPCF can contribute evidence;
how recommendations and actions will be monitored; and
how families will be able to see whether the changes made have resulted in improvements.
Outstanding questions we have asked OCC to respond to
Although a significant amount of information was shared during SEND Connect, a number of important questions were not answered or were only partly answered during the session.
We have asked OCC to respond to these as soon as possible.
The key outstanding questions include:
What went wrong this September, including for continuing travellers and families who had completed everything required of them?
How many children and young people are still without their permanent travel arrangements?
When does OCC expect the current backlog of travel arrangements and unanswered enquiries to be resolved?
What is the escalation route when an urgent enquiry remains unanswered?
How will OCC proactively identify and support families who cannot repeatedly chase the service?
What interim support will be provided where an eligible child or young person cannot access education because permanent travel is not ready?
Should families incur taxi costs before an increased PTB has been approved, and what costs can subsequently be reimbursed?
What reimbursement or other redress is available where travel problems have resulted in additional financial loss or missed education?
How will OCC ensure families are not treated as late because of circumstances outside their control?
How will Post-16 travel work where timetables are unavailable or subsequently change?
What happens where OCC, providers and families hold different information about a travel arrangement?
How can families request a review or risk assessment of an existing arrangement, and how quickly should this happen?
What are the expected timescales for Supported Travel eligibility appeals?
What are the scope and timescales for the Cabinet lessons-learned work and Scrutiny deep dive, and how will parent-carer evidence contribute?
We will update this blog with OCC’s responses as soon as we receive them.
What parent carers told us
Although individual circumstances varied, several themes came through very strongly during the session.
Parent carers described:
children and young people missing education because travel was unavailable;
continuing arrangements unexpectedly stopping;
significant difficulty getting responses or updates;
families repeatedly providing information;
uncertainty about whether applications, TIFs or timetables had been received;
providers and families appearing to hold different information;
substantial taxi and travel costs;
parents taking leave, reducing working hours or being unable to work;
significant amounts of time being spent transporting children themselves;
disruption to routines;
increased anxiety and distress for some children and young people;
difficulty planning because families had no indication of how long interim arrangements would last;
frustration about being described as late where families believed they had completed everything required; and
concern for families who may not have the capacity or confidence to continually chase services.
One of the clearest messages was that families need to know not only how the Supported Travel process is intended to work, but:
What is happening with my child or young person’s travel now, what happens next, and when can we expect it to be resolved?
OxPCF reflections and next steps
We would like to thank everyone who joined SEND Connect, asked questions and shared their experiences.
For many families, these are not simply questions about an administrative process. Problems with travel can affect whether a child or young person can access their education and can have a significant impact on their wellbeing and on the wider family.
We welcome a number of the improvements OCC described, particularly:
beginning planning earlier in the year;
clearer named points of contact;
closer working between teams;
reviewing existing arrangements earlier;
improving communication; and
considering interim arrangements sooner.
However, the session also highlighted a significant gap between how the Supported Travel process is intended to operate and the experience described by some parent carers this September.
Communication remains a particularly strong concern. Families need timely acknowledgement of enquiries, realistic timescales, clear escalation routes and individual updates. They should not have to repeatedly chase different parts of the system simply to find out whether their child or young person will be able to get to their education setting.
OxPCF will continue to:
gather feedback from parent carers;
monitor whether outstanding arrangements are being resolved;
raise recurring issues with OCC and through our wider work with the Oxfordshire Local Area Partnership;
seek responses to questions that remain unanswered;
ask for updated figures and timescales;
share practical information with families as it becomes available; and
ensure the impact on children, young people and their families remains central to discussions about improvement.
We also want to hear when arrangements have been resolved or communication has improved. This helps us understand whether changes are making a difference across Oxfordshire.
Stay Connected & Share Your Voice
OxPCF cannot manage or resolve individual Supported Travel cases, but the experiences parent carers share with us help us identify recurring issues, understand where improvements are or are not being felt by families and raise these directly with the people responsible.
We will continue to provide updates and will add OCC’s responses to the outstanding questions when we receive them.
Website: www.oxpcf.org.uk
Email: info@oxpcf.org.uk
Share your feedback with us: feedback@oxpcf.org.uk
Message or send us a voice note: 07394 735666
Join our mailing list: https://tinyurl.com/OxPCFMailing
SEND Connect newsletters: https://tinyurl.com/SENDConnectNewslettersUpcoming events: https://www.oxpcf.org.uk/events
Online peer-support group: https://facebook.com/groups/oxsendroom
Community WhatsApp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BRH9Knm8fuNBIFY1OhrZIE
Please continue to share your experiences with us – both where problems remain and where things are improving.
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