Council's school transport decision 'cynical ploy'

Some parents were told the day before the May half-term holiday that free school transport rules were changing

A council has been accused of a "cynical ploy" after telling parents they would no longer be eligible for free school transport for their children just before the half-term holiday.

North Yorkshire Council sent its decision notice out by email on Friday outlining the new policies on home-to-school provision.

The free transport eligibility has been for children living in rural areas with long journeys to school that were paid for by the council.

However, on Wednesday councillors voted to approve a change to the scheme, that means provision is based on the distance to a pupil's nearest school rather than any school of their choice within the catchment area.

£4.2m saving

Altering the eligibility rules would save the council £4.2m a year, and is currently the authority's third-largest expense.

The council has defended the policy change, and said the move would make savings at a time of severe financial constraints.

It added that the new policy was "fairer" because under the old system, some families claimed the grants for journeys to more than one school for their children.

Director for children and young people, Stuart Carlton, said the information had been sent as quickly as possible, and parents who had already been in touch would receive replies.

The families of children due to start secondary school in September were informed on 30 May and those with children due to start primary school are due to find out by 30 June.

'Cynical ploy'

Those who have complained are those who wish to send their child to a school within their catchment area but which is not the closest one to their home, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said, and campaign group School Transport Action Group (STAG) has called for the policy to revert to the old system.

STAG criticised the council for telling parents on a Friday afternoon before a Bank Holiday weekend when no council staff were available to answer queries.

"This adds insult to injury," STAG said.

"Anguished parents have been left in the dark as to what they are supposed to do now.

"This seems a really cynical ploy by the council to deliver bad news and then not be on hand to help sort out the mess.

"We're starting to wonder what North Yorkshire parents have done to deserve this type of treatment from their council."

Arnold Warkenen, a North Yorkshire Green Party councillor and retired organic farmer, said the policy seems to be 'rushed through'

Parent Rachael Berry, who lives near Skipton, received an email advising that her daughter would not be eligible for free transport because Skipton Girls' High School, where she has a place, was not their nearest school.

"It's going to be a time of confusion for parents about what to do next.

"The bus passes are allocated on a first-come-first served basis, so we need to get the message out to check if you've got an email, and get your application in as soon as possible."

The Green Party councillor for Great Ouseburn, a small village between Ripon and York, said the council needed to "be careful" about how it treated families, and the decision should not be made for "convenience".

"Sometimes there's no solution for everyone, but what you can do with everybody is give them due consideration," Arnold Warneken said.

"We've sent these emails out when there will be nobody at the council for three days and nobody at the schools to talk to for 10 days because it's half-term.

"This seems to be being rushed through."

Mr Carlton added: "We are aware that parents and carers have been waiting for information about the child's eligibility for assistance with home to school travel. Therefore, we have tried to provide the information as quickly as possible.

"The letters sent today provide information not only about whether their child is eligible for assistance with home to school travel, but also about how and where they are able to obtain further information about school travel arrangements, including information about the appeals process.

"We have already received correspondence from parents about the letters and we will be responding to them as soon as possible."

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