Agenda item

That the decision of 21 May 2013 be confirmed, which was that the proposed changes to the Home to School Transport Policy as detailed in paragraph 3.01 of the report be approved.

The Cabinet Member for Education provided details of the result of the Call In meeting on Home to School Transport Policy Changes – Denominational Transport.

At the Lifelong Learning Overview and Scrutiny Call In meeting the previous week, the issues raised by the signatories of the Call In were:

·        The expectation of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee that the item would be referred back to it with alternative proposals.  The Cabinet Member explained that responses had been considered in detail.

·        That Cabinet ignored the response to consultation where 85% of the respondents did not agree with the proposals.  The Cabinet Member said this was one-sided as many of the 85% did not agree with the proposals because they felt all free denominational school transport should cease.

·        Comparison was made to free transport provided to Welsh medium schools and therefore it was discriminatory not to provide it to denominational schools.  The Cabinet Member explained that the provision of free school transport to Welsh medium schools was statutory which it was not for denominational schools.

·        Reference was made only to free transport, not the admissions policy.  The Cabinet Member explained that denominational schools were responsible for their own admissions policy and they would admit pupils based on their own admissions criteria.

·        Those who choose denominational schools but are not members of that faith should receive free transport.  The Cabinet Member explained that it would not be their nearest school.

·        The sibling rule.  The Cabinet Member explained that the sibling rule was applied to admissions and not transport.

·        Spaces on buses.  The Cabinet Member explained that if there were spare places on a bus going to a denominational school, parents could apply for a place and pay the set fare.

·        The policy had not been well thought through.  The Cabinet Member explained the background to the item which commenced several years previous with work then being undertaken by the Task and Finish Group prior to being reported to Executive when it did not progress.  The children of the same denomination of the school would continue to be supported in their choice of school.  The policy was previously biased which could not continue.  The policy was not solely about saving money but efficiencies did need to be made where possible.

In conclusion, the Cabinet Member for Education recommended that the decision of the Cabinet on 21 May 2013 be confirmed.

The Director of Lifelong Learning provided details of other local authorities with the same policy as that being proposed, others with more restrictive policies and some that had completely removed denominational entitlement. 

The Director acknowledged that the original report could have made more direct references to recent and previous scrutiny work and discussion on the issue.  However, the issues debated had been addressed both in the report and in the “frequently asked questions” documentation.  He also affirmed the importance of elected Members monitoring and evaluating the impact of any policy changes.

The Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance said he had recently received 30 letters from members of the public, 21 of which were from outside of the county.  He reiterated the point that the objectors to the policy were not all objecting on the same grounds and that a number of those objectors wanted free transport to be removed in totality.  

The decision was emotive but strong decisions needed to be taken based on priorities.

The Cabinet Member for Public Protection, Waste and Recycling said he had also been contacted by a number of people who felt that fairness was the most important issue in that if you chose a school that was not your nearest school, free transport should not be provided.

RESOLVED:

That the decision of 21 May 2013 be confirmed, which was that the proposed changes to the Home to School Transport Policy as detailed in paragraph 3.01 of the report be approved.