School Transport Plans Agreed
Proposed changes to school transport in Derbyshire for sixth form students and young adults with special educational needs or disabilities are to be reconsidered.
Derbyshire County Council says it needs more time to look at the implications of the proposals and to consider how the authority might help students if the changes are adopted in future.
In January, the authority proposed to stop funding free or subsidised transport to school for:
• Sixth Form students and young adults aged 19 to 25 with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND)
• Pre-school children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) attending nurseries
• Children aged eight to 11 who live more than two miles but less than three miles from their nearest area school.
It undertook a wide-ranging consultation on the plans and received more than 300 responses, many from people saying they would be adversely affected by the changes.
Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for children’s services Councillor Jim Coyle said:
“Government cuts are biting deeply and we are having to look at every penny we spend.
“By law there are services we have to provide, so we can’t touch them. But others are discretionary – we generally don’t have to pay for them - and that’s where we have to look for savings.
“I know people rely on these services but cuts coupled with a greater demand on services means we’ve got no choice other than to consider these options.”
On Tuesday, May 24, the council’s Cabinet agreed to the revised proposals:
• Continue with the current school transport policy for post-16 students with SEND (aged 16-25) for at least 12 months while further work is carried out.
• No longer provide free school transport for pre-school children with SEND except in exceptional circumstances.
• No longer provide free transport for children aged 8-11 who live more than two miles and less than three miles from their normal area school.
Currently, the county council spends more than £14million a year on home to school transport. This includes £2.3million going further than its general legal obligations for the above groups.
Councillor Coyle said: “The sad truth is that we can’t afford everything we used to. The budget for children’s services has been slashed which means our service level has to change.
“In 2011 children’s services had £112million to spend. Today our budget is £89million and it could be as little as £70million by 2020.
“A lot of things we’d like to provide are no longer possible and others will have to be done differently.
He added: “We’re doing all we can to reduce costs by reviewing senior management, putting strict vacancy controls in place and disposing of redundant land and buildings. But the cuts are so deep, there’s very little choice.”
The latest proposals do not affect the authority’s legal duty to provide free transport for eligible school-age pupils aged five to 16, including pupils with special educational needs or a disability.
The council says the options it could consider include:
• Increasing charges
• Contributions from bursaries
• Contributions from mobility allowances.
For more details of the budget challenges being faced by the county council, go to www.derbyshire.gov.uk/challenge
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