Proposed changes to education transport for post-16 students, grammar school pupils, and the ‘continuity transport’ policy – have your say Why are these proposals being made? The council recognises that in a rural county like Wiltshire, where the costs of transport are high and where public transport may not always be available, it is important to make sure that affordable transport is available to enable students to participate in education. Although like other authorities we are having to make savings, rather than proposing to withdraw the existing transport provision we are seeking to find a way of reducing the council’s expenditure while allowing the transport to remain in place. We are also seeking to protect low income or vulnerable families, which is why it is not proposed to increase the reduced rate charge for post-16 transport or apply the new charges to students who have special educational needs or disabilities. The ability to pay by instalments is also intended to help ease the financial burden on families. Like all local authorities, Wiltshire Council faces significant financial pressures with reduced funding from central government, increased service demand and inflation. These pressures are likely to increase. In order to deliver our priorities of protecting vulnerable people, boosting the local economy and bringing communities together we have to make savings elsewhere. In 2013/14 Wiltshire Council spent £7.8 million on home to school and college transport for 10,000 pupils and students, including 1,800 students aged 16 or over travelling to school sixth form or FE College. This is equivalent to over £4 a day per pupil. The council is required by law to provide free transport for many of these groups of students, mainly for children aged less than 16 years old who attend their local school and live more than three miles from it. However, in some cases, including post 16, grammar school and ‘continuity’ transport, the council provides transport where there is no legal requirement to do so. In these cases the transport is funded entirely from the council’s own budgets, with no additional funding being received from national government. Our financial plan for 2014-15 identifies the need to make significant savings from the passenger transport budget, of which education transport is a large part. This includes a review of all transport which the council is not required to provide by law. It is estimated that the proposed increase in the post-16 transport charge would result in a saving to the council of around £100,000 a year with effect from September 2015.The proposed introduction of charges for grammar school transport would save £63,000 in the year commencing September 2015, but rising to around £307,000 a year after five years when the charges have been fully phased in. The withdrawal of continuity transport would save around £15,000 a year. To help us make these decisions, we would like to consult with the public including those who benefit from home to school and college transport. This document sets out the possible changes proposed for transport for post-16 students, grammar school pupils and to the ‘continuity transport’ policy and provides information to help you respond to the consultation. Wiltshire is not the only authority reluctantly having to propose changes to non-statutory education transport, and these proposals would bring us into line with many who have already imposed or increased charges for transport, or even ceased to provide assistance. For example, of the eight authorities bordering Wiltshire five no longer provide any assistance for post 16 transport, except for students with special educational needs or by charging for spare seats on school contract buses where these are available. What is being proposed? Post-16 transport There is no legal requirement for the council to provide subsidised transport for students over the age of 16. However, Wiltshire Council recognises that in a mainly rural county affordable transport is important in allowing students to attend school or college. The council’s current scheme provides transport to either the designated school or college, where the student lives more than three miles away. Transport is normally arranged by providing a pass to travel on a public or school bus, but special transport will be arranged if nothing else is available. The average cost of providing transport is £843 per student per year. To help meet the cost, a charge is currently made of £446 a year, with an option to pay by instalments. A reduced rate charge of £156 a year is available for students whose household income is less than £20,819 per annum. These charges provided income to the council of £472,000 in 2013/14. It is proposed that the full rate charge for post 16 transport would be increased from its current level of £446 to a new rate of £625 a year from September 2015. As at present, this would be payable either as a single amount in advance, or in eight instalments between August and March. It is not proposed to make any increase in the charge for low income families, which would remain at £156 a year. The proposals would also not affect students who require transport on the grounds of special educational needs or disability, to whom the current charges of £446 or £156 a year would continue to apply. Grammar school transport In most parts of the county, the council does not fund the provision of transport for children who, as a result of parental choice, attend a school other than the closest to their home. However, for historic reasons the council currently provides transport to the two grammar schools in Salisbury from a wide area on the same basis as to local schools in other parts of the county. This is free for pupils up to 16 years of age, and at the normal post 16 charge for pupils of 16 and over. This is not a legal requirement and is funded entirely from the council’s own budget. Transport is currently provided for 555 grammar school pupils at a cost to the council of £366,000 a year. It is proposed that the council would continue to arrange transport for students attending the Salisbury grammar schools, but that the cost of doing so would be recovered by making a charge of £676 per annum per student. Low income families would be charged at the same rate, but the schools would be encouraged to provide bursaries for individual cases of need. Charges would be phased in starting in September 2015 and would apply only to new pupils starting at the school in September 2015 and each successive year. However, when pupils move into the sixth form at the grammar schools (starting in September 2015) they would pay the grammar school charge of £676 and not the normal post-16 transport charge. The charge would be payable either as a single amount in advance, or in eight instalments between August and March. The council is required by legislation to continue to provide free transport for pupils either where the grammar school is their nearest available school, or where family income and distance from the school meet the ‘extended provisions’ criteria in the Education Act1. Continuity transport In some circumstances the council will provide transport for a temporary period for a child whose family moves home into a different school catchment. This is where it considers changing school would be undesirable for educational reasons (for example in an exam year). In 2013/14 transport was provided under this policy for 52 children at a cost to the council of £33,000. It is proposed that the council would cease accepting new applications for continuity transport with effect from January 2015, although in some cases assistance might still be sought on the grounds of exceptional circumstances. 1 For children from families in receipt of free school meals, or Working Tax Credit where the maximum award for their case in received, the council is required to provide free transport to any one of the three nearest qualifying schools where the distance to the school is between 2 and 6 miles from their home
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 17:23:32 +0000
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