Councillors are set to examine claims of widespread errors in a system used by North Yorkshire Council to implement its controversial home-to-school transport policy.
Councillor Barbara Brodigan, chair of the authority’s children and families overview and scrutiny committee, has called a meeting of the committee to look at evidence compiled by opponents of the new rules.
The new policy means the council will only provide free school transport to a child’s nearest school, meaning transport is not offered to catchment schools which are not the closest.
The School Transport Action Group (STAG), which was formed to fight the changes, says members have identified “systemic problems” with how distances are being calculated to determine which schools are closest.
The campaigners say they have reviewed mapping data for 31 schools across North Yorkshire and found that, in every case, routes did not end at a school gate or recognised entrance, as required by the policy.
In some cases, routes did not start from the family’s correct address either.
Schools where the campaign group claims it has identified errors include Richmond School, Ripon Grammar, Tadcaster Grammar, Boroughbridge High, Wensleydale School, King James Academy in Knaresborough and Outwood Academy in Easingwold.
STAG said that despite raising the issue in October and sharing the data, the council have refused to engage or provide answers.
Cllr Brodigan, a Liberal Democrat councillor, said she had received formal requests from parents and opposition group leaders for the scrutiny committee to look at the issues.
She said: “When credible evidence shows that decisions affecting children may be based on incorrect data, the council has a responsibility to act — not to ignore concerns or shut residents out.
“Scrutiny exists to protect families, ensure fairness and demand transparency. If mistakes have been made, they must be put right before any more harm is done.
“Parents deserve straight answers from their council and it’s my job as chair of scrutiny to ensure they get them.”
The requests for the scrutiny committee to examine the claims come after the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman agreed to investigate complaints about the council made by parents refused free school transport to their catchment school.
It is understood that the complaints focus on issues surrounding the council’s decision-making and appeals processes, including the mapping system used to calculate distances.
STAG points out that the home-to-school transport policy states that distances must be measured from a fixed point within the family dwelling to the nearest school entrance.
It claims its evidence raises serious questions about whether the policy has been applied correctly.
Because eligibility often hinges on small distance differences, campaigners claim there is a risk that some families have been wrongly denied free transport and that parents may be being incorrectly charged for paid-for bus passes.
A spokesperson for STAG said: “Parents have been stonewalled from the very start, so it is a huge relief that someone is now stepping in to demand answers on their behalf.
“We have presented credible evidence and repeatedly asked for the opportunity to sit down and talk the issues through, but officers and executive members have refused to engage at every stage.
“That is why urgent scrutiny is so important — parents simply want the evidence examined properly and the policy applied fairly.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service has contacted North Yorkshire Council for comment.
It is understood no date has been set for the scrutiny committee to look at the claims, with Cllr Brodigan asking for the meeting to take place before the council’s budget is signed off in mid-February and ahead of secondary school places being announced at the start of March.
Be the first to comment