School transport row to dominate budget meeting

North Yorkshire Council said the cost of transporting children to school was significantly higher than for other councils

Criticism of a council's plans to cut a grants scheme and queries about school transport changes are expected to dominate a budget meeting later.

North Yorkshire Council is due to approve its annual budget and strategy for the next three years at the meeting in Northallerton.

It is expected to confirm a council tax hike of 4.99%, which bosses say would still leave a £5m shortfall to be funded from reserves.

Opposition councillors intend to challenge the Conservative-run authority on attempts to reduce the £50m home-to-school transport budget. The council has said its costs are significantly higher than those faced by other authorities.

The cost per child population for home to school transport is more than three times higher than the average for other English councils.

"That is due to vast rural areas of the county and the distances travelled," a council spokesperson said.

Under the proposed changes, the council would only provide buses to and from a child's nearest school rather than using school catchment areas.

Council officers have acknowledged the system may require additional bus routes to be put on, with some rural communities being served by several schools depending on the location of families, when previously all children would go to the same catchment school.

Liberal Democrat group leader Bryn Griffiths, who represents Stokesley, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "It just feels wrong.

"They're putting on extra transport on additional routes and travelling out of county, and they're saying they're going to save money - it sounds pie in the sky."

The Green Party group have also questioned the decision on school transport.

Its leader Kevin Foster has warned the council could find itself being subjected to a judicial review.

Opposition councillors questioned if the new policy would save money

The rise in council tax will mean a household living in an average Band D property will pay an extra £92.18 a year.

The authority is blaming the loss of the £14.3m rural services delivery grant, which was removed by the government in November, as well as an increase in employer National Insurance contributions for exacerbating financial challenges caused by an increase in demand for services.

Carl Les, the council's Conservative leader, said: "It's very hard not to think it's payback time for 14 years of previous Conservative government.

"It's very hard not to think that this government thinks rural areas are well off, and can cope with these sorts of pressures."

A plan to cut the £900,000 a year locality fund in half is also expected to draw criticism.

Each councillor is given £10,000 a year from the fund to allocate to good causes and projects in their division.

However, the council is looking to reduce this to £5,000 from 2025/26.

Greens leader Foster said the cut would restrict councillors' abilities to support residents with "things like food banks, schools with SEND projects, and youth and village hall projects to name but a few".

The 2025/26 budget will be the first to include a new 100% premium for council tax bills on second homes, which the council hopes will raise up to £11m.

It will also include a £7m investment in Harrogate Convention Centre, as well as a £60m investment in five new care and support hubs for people suffering from dementia.

A government spokesperson says ministers know local authorities have suffered from short-term solutions, which is why they were working hand in hand with councils to reform an "outdated" funding system.

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