Warwickshire parents 'fear complaining about special needs transport'

Emma Brandrick-Royston's daughter Charlotte attends a special school in Warwickshire

A "fear culture" is stopping parents of special needs children in Warwickshire speaking up over potential cuts to their school transport, one mum says.

Warwickshire County Council is considering making changes to its transport service for children with special educational needs to cut costs.

The council says it faces a £3.2m overspend on the service this year.

Emma Brandrick-Royston says parents are "scared to complain" in case their child is directly affected by the cuts.

She also says that any changes can be distressing for children like her autistic daughter Charlotte, aged nine.

"For a lot of people with special needs, change is horrendous," said Ms Brandrick-Royston, of Leamington Spa.

"Change is scary. It can absolutely alter their lives and the lives of their families. These children are not just lines on a spreadsheet."

'Costs may triple'

Councils across England have warned they are facing effective bankruptcy and need to make cuts to the soaring cost of transport for children with special educational needs or disability (SEND).

Last year, a report by the County Councils Network said by 2027, spending on special needs transport could triple to more than £1.1bn.

But councils have a legal duty to provide home-to-school transport for eligible students, including those with education, health and care plans (ECHPs).

In Warwickshire, where 17.4% of school pupils are classified as SEND, the cost of taxis and minibuses has been continuing to mount.

The council has spent £21.6m on travel assistance for children with EHCPs this current financial year.

More than half of that sum - £12m - has been spent on home-to-school taxis for those children, the council said.

Those costs have increased by £11m, from £9.6m in 2018.

Charlotte had been travelling to school on a minibus, but her mother says the council told her "behavioural problems" had forced them to arrange a taxi for her

The council says the cost of SEND provision is one of the greatest threats to its financial position.

In its latest financial plan, it has proposed making changes to the transport service to save £1m this year, and more than £2m by 2029.

Peter Butlin, the Conservative deputy leader of the county council, said it was considering a number of options to bring down costs.

"We're looking towards identify where children can actually go on to public transport, as opposed to specialised transport, with training etc," he said.

"The other option is to use more minibuses that can pick up groups of children. And that will bring down costs."

Until the authority's 2024/25 budget is agreed at a council meeting on 8 February, "all political groups are considering their options and no decisions have been taken", a spokesperson said.

'Behavioural problems'

But Ms Brandrick-Royston said there were already problems around home-to-school transport.

She said the council told her Charlotte was to be moved from a minibus to a smaller taxi over "behavioural problems".

Ms Brandrick-Royston complained and she said the council apologised for its communication but it has not reversed its decision.

She says other parent carers are "scared to complain" about similar issues.

"There's a fear culture at the moment," she said.

"If you've fought to get it right in one area, you can't then complain about another because you might then lose what you've got."

The county council said it did not wish to comment on individual cases.