Shropshire plans for SEND transport funding cut move forward

Parents of nursery children with special educational needs could have to pay more for school transport under Shropshire Council's plan

Plans to cut school transport for some children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will go to consultation.

Shropshire Council says the cuts will save £350,000 annually and the authority's cabinet has agreed proposals should be considered.

Tory council leader Lezley Picton said cuts were not an easy decision.

But leader of the opposition Labour group Julia Buckley said the plan was an "absolute disgrace".

The move would mean the removal of all discretionary grant provision covering home-to-school transport for nursery-age children with special educational needs. Such provision would also disappear for all pupils over the age of 16.

School pupils up to the age of 16 would not be affected as the authority has a statutory right to provide the transport service.

Six nursery children with special needs and 104 post-16 pupils with special needs, plus 56 mainstream post-16 pupils, received council help with transport this year at a cost of £647,000.

Parents or carers have to contribute either £933 or £299 annually, based on their circumstances.

Ms Picton said: "We are one of only a few councils that do discretionary transport grants, but it's not an easy decision to take it away."

She said the authority had to "overturn every stone" as it sought to find £51m in budget cuts.

'Rock bottom'

The council said it was making good progress with that task, but Ms Buckley said: "I think the Conservatives have absolutely hit rock bottom when they are prepared to hit the most vulnerable children in our county in order to save a few hundred thousand pounds."

The cabinet has also agreed to move forward with plans to cut the hours of its customer service phone line by 45%, to make it a 09:00 to 15:00 service, with the exception of one day a week when it would be operational until 18:00.

Ms Picton said the council had seen a "huge increase in internet contact".

Ms Buckley said vulnerable people would be affected.

An eight-week consultation programme on transport will begin in September and the changes could be adopted in September 2024.