School transport subsidies to be reviewed in Rutland

Low income families and parents of children with special needs could be affected by a review of school transport plans.

Under the proposals, which are being considered as a way of cutting Rutland’s transport budget, sixth formers who currently travel for free may have to pay half fares.

Some children who may have been entitled to free travel under the existing special educational needs policy may no longer be eligible.

After a review, Rutland County Council is bringing together four existing policies which date back to 2017 and will begin a six-week consultation next month, with the new policy expected to be implemented in May. Any new charges would come in from September 2026.

The Liberal Democrat-run authority, which is in a budget reducing phase, is predicting it will go almost £889,000 over budget on home to school transport costs this financial year and could spend just over £4 million on transporting children to mainstream schools, post-16 education and special schools.

The authority says that since the transport policies began in 2017 the cost of providing transport for young people with special education needs and disabilities has grown by 269 per cent and now amounts to £1,498,410 annually.

The authority is not spelling out in detail where the savings will come from, but the report predicts savings of £526,000 will be made from the next financial year until 2028 by ‘optimising the transport routes, improved procurement though the introduction of a dynamic purchasing system and management of the contracts’.

The budget for sixth-formers is £116,177 but in the past few years an additional £42,000 was spent.

Proposals being consulted on include sixth-formers from low-income families having to pay 50 per cent of school travel costs, while children with special educational needs would not automatically qualify for travel assistance.

The report says if the authority does not make the changes it would result in continued funding problems and would not address the impact of current arrangements on climate control.

Coun Christine Wise, said providing school and post-16 travel assistance has grown considerably in recent years and that the council needed to make its policies clearer and consider whether they were economical.

She added that by law the council cannot fail to provide transport for children and young people who are eligible and “there is absolutely no chance that the council will stop anything it must do”.

Leader of the five-councillor-strong Conservative group, Lucy Stephenson, said residents needed to be consulted before any changes are made.

She added that it is compulsory for young people to remain in education or training until they are 18 but with Harington School being the only state sixth-form available in Rutland, young people may have no choice but to travel out of the county.

Coun Stephenson said: “When Rutland young people take this important next step in their lives, their ambitions and aspirations should be the driving force, not whether or not they can afford to get there.

“Unfortunately, the four reasons given for these policy changes don’t include a fundamental principle of ensuring accessibility is not a barrier to achieving full potential.

“Rural living should not be a disadvantage to our young people; I fear these policy changes, if approved, could be just that.'”

The new policy proposals will be discussed at the cabinet meeting being held at Catmose House, Oakham on Tuesday (December 10).