Campaigners claim a long-awaited review of North Yorkshire Council’s controversial school transport policy is designed to protect the authority rather than families and rural communities.
The School Transport Action Group (STAG) has criticised the conclusions and recommendations of the council’s long-awaited post-implementation review (PIR), saying they effectively “bake in” a policy which has already caused problems for families.
The group says the review fails to demonstrate that the revised policy has achieved its aims or delivered the anticipated financial savings, while acknowledging problems with its implementation and impacts on rural communities.
Despite highlighting issues with the policy and making a series of recommendations to change how it operates, the review recommends maintaining the policy of offering free transport to a child’s nearest school rather than the previous system based on catchments.
A STAG spokesperson said: “The post-implementation review reads less like an honest assessment of whether this policy is working and more like an attempt to protect the council from the consequences of its own decisions.”
The campaign group said the review acknowledges financial pressure on families, changes in school patterns and impacts on rural communities, as well as problems involving communication, mapping, appeals and implementation.
It argues that errors involving mapping data, school entrances, private roads and route calculations could have resulted in families incorrectly losing transport eligibility.
However, STAG says the recommendations concentrate on correcting the system for future applications rather than systematically revisiting previous decisions or compensating families who may have been affected.
It claims this leaves parents having to challenge decisions themselves through the appeals process.
Campaigners are also challenging the financial case for continuing the policy.
STAG says the review demonstrates that fewer children are receiving council-funded transport, but argues this has not yet been shown to produce equivalent cash savings.
It says assumptions that fewer eligible pupils will eventually result in fewer vehicles, smaller buses, shorter routes or cancelled contracts remain largely projections.
The spokesperson added: “Stopping a child from taking up a seat on a bus doesn’t save money if the bus still runs with an empty seat.”
The group has also criticised the review’s treatment of rural communities.
STAG says the potential disproportionate impact of removing catchment-based eligibility from rural families had been identified before the policy was introduced.
Campaigners also believe potential consequences for rural schools have been underplayed, with falling pupil numbers treated as something to monitor rather than a problem requiring immediate action.
They argue losing pupils can put additional financial pressure on schools and potentially affect their long-term sustainability, sixth forms and post-16 provision.
At the heart of STAG’s criticism remains the council’s removal of catchment-based transport eligibility.
The group says this has created a disconnect between school admissions and transport arrangements which none of the proposed changes resolves.
STAG wants the council to reinstate catchment eligibility.
Its spokesperson added: “Twenty-seven months and more than 300 pages have been spent trying to work out what has gone wrong and what can be done to improve it.
“We can do it in just three words — bring catchment back.”
In response to the criticism, North Yorkshire Council’s assistant chief executive for local engagement, Rachel Joyce, who led the PIR, said the authority was pleased that the group acknowledges the significant amount of work officers have put into the review and of the recognition of the opportunities to further improve the policy.
She added: “The review findings are now part of a live decision-making process including consideration by overview and scrutiny next Wednesday, followed by the executive on Friday.
“Subject to approval, a six-week public consultation will then be launched, giving residents and stakeholders the opportunity to provide their views on the proposed changes to the policy before it is debated at Full Council in November.
“It’s important this process is allowed to take its course and is therefore not appropriate for us to comment further at this time.”
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