A “CRUEL” Victorian style shake-up of school transport has been slammed in Warwickshire.
Key county figures are up in arms after leader of Warwickshire County Council, Coun George Finch wrote to education secretary Bridget Phillipson, seeking permission to revise rules that govern pupils’ eligibility for free home-to-school transport.
Allowing councils to set their own rules over statutory walking distances, he wrote, would save them money.
Statutory walking distances are the rules, set by government, that decide how far a child must live from their school before they are eligible for free home to school transport.
Currently, a child under the age of eight is eligible for free travel to their nearest suitable school if it is more than two miles from their home. Children aged eight years or above are eligible if the distance is more than three miles.
Reform-led WCC runs to the same distance thresholds when working out eligibility, but Coun FInch is seeking permission for those to be set at local level, and in the case of Warwickshire, extend distances by two miles for each of the age categories.
Stratford MP Dr Perteghella accused Reform of “turning the clock back by decades” with proposals that would make life harder for parents already struggling with rising costs and poor public transport.
She continued: “Reform’s new school travel approach is cruel, short-sighted and completely out of touch with the realities facing families in Warwickshire. No child should have to trek in the rain for five miles just to get to school.
“Reform wants to turn the clock back by decades, while parents are already struggling with rising costs and patchy public transport. The answer isn’t to make children walk further in the rain next to busy roads, it’s to properly fund councils so they can deliver safe, reliable school transport.
“The Liberal Democrats want every child to have a fair, safe journey to school, without needless hardship and challenges just to get an education.”
Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western said he was “appalled” at the proposal, which should be firmly rejected.
He continued: “To expect children to walk up to 1.5 hours to and from school every day is foolish and does not have the best interests of our children anywhere near it.
“I have written to the education secretary to express my serious concerns over these plans and my encouragement for her to continue to firmly reject them. Children in Warwickshire deserve much better.”
Jerry Roodhouse, WCC’s Liberal Democrat Group leader added: “The Reform administration at Warwickshire County Council led by Coun Finch need to reconsider this proposal.
“Reform are prioritising money over child safety. This initiative will create anxiety for parents, particularly those who work or who do not have alternative transport.”
WCC is running a seven week public consultation on the Home to School Transport Policy until Monday December 22.
Visit ask.warwickshire.gov.uk/ to take part.
Coun Finch refused to comment.
