Agenda item

HOME TO SCHOOL TRANSPORT ELIGIBILITY POLICY

To consider a report by Councillor Eryl Williams, Lead Member for Education (copy enclosed) seeking approval to implement pick up points for secondary school pupils and to clarify the existing policy.

Decision:

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a) agrees to amend the existing policy to introduce central pick up points for all secondary school pupils;

(b) notes the full policy in Appendix 1 to the report which in summary will provide free transport to the nearest suitable secondary school from a designated pick up point;

(c) allows existing secondary school pupils to continue to access free transport for the remainder of their existing statutory school life from a central pick up point;

(d) notes there is no change to transport for primary school pupils;

(e) agrees that the recommendations above be implemented immediately in accordance with the Council’s call in procedure rules contained in the constitution in light of the circumstances set out in paragraph 4.1 of the report;

(f) requests that the Welsh in Education Strategic Group review the language categorisation of all schools during the autumn term and present a report to Scrutiny in early spring 2015, and

(g) an assessment of the impact of the review of the policy be conducted and presented to Scrutiny at the end of the first year of implementation.

Minutes:

Councillor Eryl Williams presented the report seeking Cabinet approval to implement pick up points for secondary school pupils and clarify the existing policy.

Some background to the report was provided together with an explanation of the consultation process and timescales for implementation. Councillor Williams thanked respondents to the consultation for their input. All responses had been carefully considered and the main issues raised had been covered within the report.

Cabinet considered the implementation of central pick up points for secondary school pupils which would generate savings of around £272k and noted that feedback had been largely positive providing relevant risk assessment processes were in place. Cabinet also focused their attention on the outcome of enforcing the new policy to remove historic anomalies in the eligibility process together with the concerns raised as part of the consultation process, recognising it was an extremely complex issue. Consequently members asked questions and sought assurances regarding particular issues raised in order to satisfy themselves that the proposals contained within the report represented the best way forward.

Key areas of discussion focused on the following –

· it was acknowledged that any savings generated by implementing central pick up points would only address the existing overspend in the school transport budget and would not take effect until September 2015 – in light of the current financial situation other non statutory areas of the policy would likely be subject to review in future

· it was explained that anomalies had been created over a number of years due to the lack of clarity in the policy with officers having taken a pragmatic and reasonable approach to requests but the escalating costs and lack of clarity necessitated a review to address those issues – members acknowledged there was a need for a clear and concise policy to ensure a consistent approach across Denbighshire and parity for all pupils

· officers explained that eligibility for free school transport was calculated from home to school using classified roads – it was acknowledged that the most direct route may not be used to transport pupils depending upon the number and location of other pupils to be transported and taking into account the safest route, hence the anomaly whereby the pick up point for pupils may be closer to a different school than the one they were attending – there may be occasions when it was more cost effective for transport to be provided to an alternative school and the right to apply discretion in those particular circumstances had been included within the policy

· members noted the concerns of parents in the Saron area whose children would be particularly affected by strict enforcement of the policy and although the possibility of feeder schools was raised it was acknowledged that eligibility was calculated from home to school as opposed to school to school and it would not be lawful to make an exception to the policy for one particular school or area

· the list of pick up points within the draft policy were only indicative at this stage and would be subject to risk assessments undertaken in line with the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure – officers provided specific details of the risk assessment process and provided assurances that the road between Saron and Cyffylliog (which had been subject of specific concern) would not be used by school buses and subject to a risk assessment for taxis

· there was support for the recommendation to continue to provide free transport for existing pupils affected to prevent disruption to their education whilst acknowledging that the transition period would last a number of years and result in disparity during that time, particularly for siblings

· concessionary transport would be permitted for one year for those pupils who chose not to attend their nearest suitable school subject to surplus places being available and a reasonable charge to cover administration costs

· a number of consultation responses related to Welsh Medium provision and the view that category 1 schools should be treated as the only Welsh medium option when assessing eligibility for transport – the current policy included category 1 and 2 schools and therefore such a change would have a significant impact on future roll numbers and transport costs. It was recommended that the language categorisation in all schools be reviewed and officers reported upon the categorisation process and delivery of the curriculum – Cabinet agreed that a timescale should be applied to this process

· the consultation process had been considered by scrutiny who found that although the consultation could have been more thorough it was unlikely that any new issues would have emerged – officers agreed to look into the omission of Gwynedd County Council from the list of stakeholders and rectify the matter

· officers acknowledged that parents should be made aware of free school transport eligibility at an early stage in order for them to make informed choices and advised that where alternative provision would prove more cost effective than stated in the policy each case would be considered on its own merits.

The Chair of Communities Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts provided an overview of the scrutiny debate of the issues and their findings which had been summarised in paragraph 8.2 of the report. He also highlighted the need to widen the scope of future reviews of school transport provision.

Councillor Joe Welch reported that his ward would be particularly affected by the strict application of the policy and highlighted his concerns in that regard. He opposed the hard line approach to implementing the policy and reported upon research he had undertaken into policies adopted by other Welsh local authorities. Consequently he asked that consideration be given to tailoring the policy to best meet the needs of individual communities in the county which be believed would still generate savings in the school transport budget.

Cabinet considered that although a particular approach may be beneficial to one locality it would not be the best approach for the county as a whole. However in light of the concerns raised it was agreed that an impact review of the policy be undertaken following its implementation.