Rutland County Council are holding a public consultation on its travel to school and post 16 transport policies between 6 January and 14 February 2025.
Feedback is being invited from parents, carers, schools, colleges and other key stakeholders. Provisions have been made for anyone without internet access, with paper copies of the consultation available.
The Council is looking to combine separate policies that cover travel to school and post 16 transport into one single travel assistance policy.
The Council must have policies that ensure it meets all legal duties for the provision of travel to school and post 16 transport services.
These legal requirements are set by the Department for Education (DfE) and include travel for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Rutland currently has three separate policies covering travel to school, SEND and post 16 travel, as well as a fourth that covers travel for young people aged 19 to 25 with SEND. These policies have been in place since 2017 and are used to guide decisions taken with families as to the kind of transport that can be provided for children and young people.
“Our review of Rutland’s existing transport policies has identified two key issues that need closer attention. Firstly, we have too many policies and they’re not clear enough about the assistance that families are eligible to receive. The second thing we need to consider is whether the travel assistance being offered by the council is economical. By law, we are not allowed to set policies that fail to provide transport for children and young people who are eligible, so there is no chance that the council will stop anything it must do.”
“These two issues will be the focus of our consultation, and we hope all those who can take part make use of this opportunity to give us feedback.”
Councillor Christine Wise, Cabinet Member for Transport, Environment and Communities
Further information on the upcoming consultation including a full question and answer section can be found on the Council’s website.