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RESOLVED: that
Cabinet:
Approved the changes to the
Home to School Transport Policy outlined in Part 6 of this report
and the resulting new Policy and supporting documents.  Approved the implementation of the changes
proposed in Part 6 of the report and applied those changes from the
beginning of the academic year starting in September
2024.
Approved the list of
‘Geographically Associated Schools’ attached in
Appendix B which will be used by the Council to determine
entitlement to free home to school transport to schools which are
not a child’s nearest. The list will apply from the beginning
of the academic year starting in September 2024.
Provided delegated authority to
the Executive Director of Place, Economy and Environment in
consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Transport,
Highways and Waste to make any adjustments to the policy which are
necessary to ensure it remains compliant with legislation and
Statutory Guidance issued by the Department for
Education.
 
REASONS RESOLVED:
·        
To demonstrate how the Council will meet its
statutory obligations in relation to the provision of Home to
School transport. The current policy includes enhanced arrangements
over and above the Council’s statutory duty.
·        
The current policy has not been reviewed in over 10
years and during this time most schools within West
Northamptonshire have moved to academy status and are no longer
under local authority control. As a result, the current policy and
the associated enhancements need to be reviewed and updated to
ensure the policy is clear for parents and carers.
·        
The changes are proposed in order to meet increased
demand and operating costs that the service has experienced over
the last 2 years, whilst at the same time attempting to create a
fairer system and exploring opportunities to give greater
flexibility for parents, supporting young people’s
independence and helping to promote sustainable travel.
 
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS:
As an alternative option the
Council has also considered setting the cost at £800 for
students who are currently part of the scheme and not increasing
this for the period they attend their current school or until they
complete Year 11, whichever is sooner. The new charge of
£1,000 would therefore only apply to all new students
requesting to join the scheme from September 2024 allowing parents
to fully understand the impact of their decision when they are
choosing a school place for their child who is starting school from
September 2024.
 
Implementing a phased approach
or offering a subsidised rate for existing students, would result
in the Service not being able to achieve its Medium Term Financial
Plan target for 2024/25. Given there are no suitable alternative
proposals available to meet this savings target, the result would
be an overspend on the budget and so the original proposal to raise
the cost of a non-entitled bus pass to £1000 from the
beginning of the academic year commencing in September 2024 will be
implemented