Mum says she needs £14,000 to send son to college

Suzanne Wright raised the point at Kirklees Council’s children’s scrutiny panel on Friday

A mum said it will cost £14,000 to send her son to college after a council changed its travel policy for students with additional needs.

Kirklees Council had previously provided taxis and minibuses for all students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the district.

A new policy, that comes into effect this month, will instead see SEND students over 16 get payment at a flat rate to organise their own transport, which would save the council £1.65m, it said.

Suzanne Wright told the authority's children’s scrutiny panel on Friday that her son has to travel outside the area as the local college cannot meet his needs, leaving her with travel costs she says is "unreasonable".

She said eight taxi companies had quoted her an annual figure of about £16,000 and that the council has "offered a £2,000 contribution," leaving her with a huge amount to find if she is to fund her son's education.

The council’s post-16 personal travel payment policy offers eligible families between £300 and £3,000 annually, depending on distances, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Before the policy change, the council said it spent £2.6m in the 2022-23 financial year to cover the costs of taxis and minibuses for 300 SEND pupils over the age of 16.

Chair of Friday’s meeting councillor Itrat Ali said the panel was unable to comment on individual cases but he would pass on Ms Wright’s concerns to the relevant cabinet member.

The panel was also unable to answer her questions about how her son would be educated if he was unable to get to college.

'Unaffordable taxi costs'

Mr Ali read out questions from another member of the public, Neil Clarkson, who was absent from the meeting but expressed concern that the policy would prevent disabled children from attending college.

Mr Clarkson’s statement said: “Using public transport is often not an option as lots of young people are not able to travel independently due to their disabilities.

“Their parents face punitive and unaffordable taxi costs to enable them to access educational provision. This means that the allocated transport grant will prevent some from being able to attend college at all.”

Under the policy, students travelling up to three miles would be given £300, and those making journeys between three and 10 miles, £1,000. Two thousand pounds would be allocated to pupils travelling between 10 and 20 miles, with those going further than 20 miles, receiving £3,000.

The council previously said the new way forward may not fit all pupils, especially those with the complex needs, and said provision had been factored in for council-organised transport where a personal travel payment would not be appropriate.

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