Families face 67% rise in cost of school buses

An annual school bus pass for over-16s will be £1,000 from September

Some families are facing a rise of 67% in the cost of school transport.

Conservative-controlled West Northamptonshire Council overspent by £2.7m on school transport last year and said the deficit could not be ignored.

Annual bus passes for over-16s will go up from £600 to £1,000 from September.

The council leader said the alternative to price increases would be closing libraries and museums.

The council's charging policy has not been reviewed in more than 10 years, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

During that time, the number of pupils receiving support has increased and inflation has pushed up the costs of operating the service.

Simon Frazer, head teacher at Guilsborough Academy, tried to persuade the council to phase in the increase

Simon Frazer, head teacher of Guilsborough Academy near Daventry, said: "Many parents will look at this increase and think 'is it cheaper to take my children myself?' and therefore we'll have more vehicles on the road, greater pollution and greater dangers."

At a council meeting where the increase was agreed this week, Mr Frazer proposed that the increase be "phased in over a number of years to acknowledge that it's unfair to hit parents with a 67% increase in one go".

His proposal was not adopted.

Labour's Emma Roberts said the council was making people pay for its mistakes

Kim Stephenson, from the special educational needs group West Northamptonshire Voices in Partnership, said: "It is unjust and unrealistic to suddenly impose such an excessive increase on families who rely on SEND transport services to ensure their children can access education that they legally must attend.

"These families are already facing numerous challenges and financial burdens in supporting their children with special needs. To burden them further with astronomical transport fees is simply unfair."

Emma Roberts, a Labour councillor, said: "[The council] are making people pay for their mistakes.

"The reason this increase is needed now is because no reviews have taken place over the last 10 years," she said.

The council leader Adam Brown said there was no viable alternative to increasing the charge

Adam Brown, the council leader, said: “If not this, then what?

“Do we close libraries and museums? Do we reduce homelessness support? Do we engage in a round of mass redundancies?

“I don’t feel that an alternative has come forward that will both fill that gap and be a viable alternative.”