Consultation on home to school transport policy

The Council is consulting on proposed changes to how home to school transport is provided and want to hear from anyone who is interested in or uses home to school transport.

If the proposed changes are approved they will come into effect from September 2014.

The consultation on home to school transport, which closes on Friday 28 February 2014, involves: 
• eligibility for transport free of charge
• transport for which the parent/carer makes a financial contribution 
• provision for children with special educational needs and other individual needs, including medical and health needs.

The Council would like to hear the views of anyone with an interest in the Home to School Transport Policy, especially: 
• Parents/carers 
• Pupils 
• Schools and colleges 
• Partner agencies (e.g. Health) 
• The Voluntary Sector 
• Town and parish councils

A consultation document that summarises the proposed changes is available along with the full proposed Home to School Transport Policy 2014/15. Both the documents are available on our website - see Schools Transport - or on request by calling 0300 1234 101.

Andrew Wallis, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, says: “The Council currently spends approximately £12 million a year on home to school transport, with around 12,000 children and young people being transported each school day. While the majority of transport is provided under our statutory duty, the current policy also includes several discretionary elements which, in light of extreme pressure on our budget, we need to reconsider.

“We have a responsibility to ensure our policy continues to provide fair and appropriate transport arrangements for children and young people alongside value for money. Balancing those two things is not always easy and we want to hear from as many people as possible to help inform our debate and final decision.”

The consultation runs from Monday 13 January 2014 to Friday 28 February 2014.

Anyone interested in commenting on the proposed changes can do so in a number of ways, including: 
• Complete the feedback form contained in the consultation document and either post or email it to us using the contact details below, or 
• Email pupiltransport@cornwall.gov.uk or 
• Write to School Transport Commissioning Team, East 0, New County Hall, Truro, TR1 3AY

The results of the consultation will be considered by Cornwall Council in April 2014 and come into effect in September 2014.

February 2014