North Yorkshire Council chiefs have come under fire for their handling of queries from parents concerned about the implementation of the controversial home-to-school transport policy.
Five questions about the policy change were submitted to the authority’s Selby and Ainsty area committee from members of the public who are unhappy about the new rules.
In response, a statement was read out at the meeting from senior officers.
But councillors and the public speakers were critical of the “broad brush” response to the questions.
The new policy means free travel is offered to a child’s nearest school rather than their catchment school.
A review of the policy change will begin next year, although any changes from that review will not take effect until 2027.
Public speaker Paul Dale urged councillors at the meeting to push for the review to be carried out sooner and to be done independently of the council.
He said: “If this policy is to regain public trust, we believe the review must be independent, transparent and begin soon enough to shape a fairer system ideally with changes in place for the 2026 intake.
“This review being independent is of particular concern as there is a genuine fear that this review could become an exercise in officers marking their own homework rather than a meaningful opportunity to reflect, consult and correct course.”
Other parents asked specific questions about transport to Tadcaster Grammar School.
One parent said: “In Appleton Roebuck three children were granted passes and four were not. A single bus would have worked for all seven children, now it will require two.
“The same is true in Bilbrough where children living at the Catterton end of the village will still qualify for transport to Tadcaster Grammar because it remains their nearest school.
“How did the council factor these locations into its cost-saving assessments and how assured is the council that this policy will result in savings rather than increasing overall transport costs?”
In response to all questions, the council said in a statement that the home-to-school policy aligned with statutory guidance issued by the Department for Education.
The response said the policy could result in savings of up to £4.2m by the end of the implementation period.
It added: “The policy will be reviewed in the summer of 2026 and the findings will be reported to the children and families overview and scrutiny committee.
“The policy review will consider the objectives of the policy, evidence relating to the budget associated with the policy, risks and assumptions relating to the policy change, as well as wider impacts of the policy.
“The review may lead to recommendations for further changes to this policy.”
Several councillors were critical of the response including Conservative member Tim Grogan.
He said: “I wasn’t particularly impressed with the response from the council, a broad answer which didn’t answer the particular nature of each question.”
The councillor said he recently attended a meeting where 26 parents raised similar concerns.
He added: “I said that each would get answers to their queries and I simply hope they’re not going to get the broad brush answer that’s being produced today because one of the criticisms that we’ve heard today is poor communication — well that exemplifies poor communication from my point of view.”
Members of the committee voted for the questions to be sent to the authority’s executive for individual answers to be supplied.
Be the first to comment