Alteration of Mainstream Secondary School Transport Qualifying Distance
| Title | Alteration of Mainstream Secondary School Transport Qualifying Distance |
|---|---|
| Council Resource | Education |
| Service Area | Support Services |
| Aims and Objectives | The council currently provides mainstream secondary school transport where a pupil lives more than 2 miles from their catchment school (and mainstream primary school transport where a pupil lives more than 1 mile from their catchment school). The statutory responsibility of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 is to provide school transport for: • any child aged under 8 years who lives more than 2 miles from their catchment school, and; • any child aged 8 years and over who lives more than 3 miles from their catchment school. Given financial challenges faced by the council and increasing costs in respect of transport services, the council is undertaking a statutory public consultation to seek views on the proposal to alter the distance that a mainstream secondary school pupil must live from their catchment school in order to qualify for free school transport from more than 2 miles to more than 3 miles. Other aspects of the policy remain unaltered, for example, any road safety concerns raised by parents would still be assessed by undertaking a safe walking route assessment. The provision of mainstream primary school transport and transport to ASN (additional support needs) bases and schools will continue as is, only a change to secondary school transport is being considered in this proposal. Budget savings options which are currently under consideration for financial year 2024/25, for Education Resources, total £7m. In addition, due to rising costs, the annual spend on mainstream school transport has grown from £6m in 2021/22 to a forecasted £10m in 2023/24, an increase of £4m (66%). Against the annual school transport budget, the overspend is currently approximately £4m and this issue is having to be managed within the existing total education annual budget. This proposal would help protect from further cuts that would impact on schools directly. |
| Conclusion | The public consultation closes on 15 March 2024. Once closed, all views, including that of Education Scotland, will be considered. A final consultation report will then be prepared and published, with the council making a decision thereafter. The conclusion of this impact assessment is that there is potential for one of the groups covered within the protected characteristic of age to be negatively impacted by this proposal. This is due to the fact that the proposal relates to secondary school pupils only. Within the protected characteristic of gender, while this proposal is not focused on a particular gender of school pupils, we recognise it has the potential to bring a negative socio-economic impact to parents with childcare responsibilities, particularly women. e.g. by having to balance making alternative travel arrangements with maintaining work commitments or accessing opportunities to increase working hours. Within the protected characteristic of disability, all pupils who currently receive transport on medical or ASN grounds will continue to do so, and we will continue to assess any new cases on an individual basis. However, it may be difficult for some adults within families to accompany their child to school if no longer entitled to transport on distance. Within the protected characteristic of religion, there is no identified impact at this stage when looking at denominational /non-denominational schools, however there will be a requirement to monitor the impact on numbers of pupils affected across different schools, (denominational and non-denominational), if the proposal is accepted and preparatory work is undertaken. As shown within section 6 of the proposal document, there are potential mitigation factors such as by promoting and encouraging the uptake of wider active travel e.g. cycle routes, walking groups (may also improve health and wellbeing and social interaction), park and stride, connecting parents who may wish to car share or operate parent led group transport, and where possible by accessing the Under 22 Free Bus Pass Scheme. The council will also engage with bus operators to seek any potential opportunity for them to increase or adjust public bus routes, making under 22 bus passes more accessible. Privilege transport policy will continue, (i.e. where dedicated school transport may have spare capacity), with priority 1 offering of privilege places to support families where adults may have disabilities and wider access to others thereafter. Continue to signpost families to supports available through other agencies e.g. benefit entitlement. |
| Completion date | 29/02/2024 |
| Contact Email address | equalities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk |