The Members Home to School Transport Appeals Panel met to discuss two appeals against the council's decision not to provide free school transport. Councillor E.G. Thomas, Chair of the Panel, along with the other councillors, unanimously agreed to refuse both appeals, citing the council's Home to School Transport Policy as the basis for their decision. Both appellants were not attending the nearest or Local Education Authority (LEA) designated school for their home address, and were therefore not eligible for free transport.

School Transport Appeals

The panel considered two appeals against the council's decision to not provide free school transport. The appeals were brought by Applicant B.A. and Applicant N.A.M.P. The panel considered the written representations of both appellants, as well as observations from departmental officers, and the individual circumstances of each case.

Both appeals were refused because, in both cases, the students were not attending the nearest or Local Education Authority designated school for their home address, due to parental preference. This meant that they did not meet the criteria outlined in the council's policy for the provision of assistance.

The panel agreed that the reports relating to these appeals contained exempt information, as defined in Paragraph 12 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972¹, and should not be made public. The public interest test in this matter related to the fact that the report included personal information relating to the applicant, and the panel agreed that the public interest in maintaining confidentiality outweighed the public interest in disclosure because of the need to protect the identity of the applicants and their families.