Cuts to travel funding for city's SEND teenagers

Leeds City Council has voted to change the way it funds transport for post-16 SEND students

Cuts to school transport funding for older teenagers with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Leeds are to go ahead.

At a meeting on Wednesday, Leeds City Council approved changes to the subsidised model for post-16 students in a bid to save money.

The authority is legally obliged to provide free home to school travel for SEND pupils in compulsory education, but there is no requirement to do so for older teenagers.

Labour councillor Helen Hayden, executive member for children and families, said continuing to offer "discretionary" transport for over-16s was "not sustainable" in its current form.

A report presented to the meeting stated that the changes would save about £800,000 in 2026-27.

The council carried out a consultation earlier this year into transport provision for SEND students aged over 16 and heard from young people and their families about what they wanted.

Across all age groups, the authority currently helps at least 3,500 children and young people with special needs get to school and college.

They often travel in taxis or in cars owned by the council itself.

A "rise in demand" had led to increased spending on assistance for those over the age of 16, councillors heard.

As part of the changes, this help would be limited to students who lived three or more miles from their place of education.

'Exceptional circumstances'

Councillors were told that annual, flat-rate personal allowances would be offered to post-16 students to use for their own travel arrangements, based on distance between home and school or college.

Free bus passes and travel training would be given to teenagers able to travel independently or with an adult on public transport.

Council officers added that they understood the proposals were "difficult" and that families with specific needs would be given help.

Students who met "exceptional circumstances" criteria would continue to benefit from council-organised travel, they said.

Councillor Alan Lamb, leader of the Conservative group, told the meeting that he had "concerns" about the decision and said worried parents had contacted him.

He added it would "not be an easy process for parents to navigate".

"For some young people, getting travel training will enable them to flourish and have an independent life, but it really needed to be very personalised and I'm concerned it's doing the opposite," he said.

Ms Hayden said that "each case would be looked at individually" and that the council remained committed to supporting SEND students through the personal allowance and other measures.

The changes are expected be introduced from September 2025.

Any eligible young person in post-16 education would continue on their existing policy unless they moved house or education provider, councillors were told.

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