By Duncan Atkins

Copyright thescarboroughnews

Members of the authority’s children and families overview and scrutiny committee will meet on Wednesday September 17 to be informed about a post-implementation review that will take place in July next year. The timing is designed to allow a full round of admissions to have taken place and travel to have begun and operated for a year. Critics have lashed out at the controversial scheme – The School Transport Action Group (STAG) said a survey of parents affected by the rule change found that some had bought two sets of school uniform because they were still unsure which school their child would attend in September. The group, which was formed by parents and opposition political groups to fight the policy change, said one mother told the survey she felt like the council “viewed parents as the enemy” after having her appeal rejected. The policy change means that from September, the council will only offer free transport to a child’s nearest school rather than their catchment school. The change is being introduced over a seven-year period, meaning it will initially only affect children starting primary or secondary school, or those moving house. North Yorkshire Council’s deputy leader, Cllr Gareth Dadd, whose responsibilities include finance, said of Wednesday’s meeting: “We adopted this policy last year to ensure that we can provide the fairest system possible for all parents, while facing such significant rises in the cost of providing the service. “The meeting on Wednesday is an opportunity for elected members to learn more about what the review entails so they will be able to see the progress of the policy after its first year of implementation. “They represent our communities and will have listened to feedback and so it will be valuable to hear what the committee’s members feel about the scope of the review.” In July last year, North Yorkshire Council’s members voted to replace the previous home to school travel policy which offered the choice of travel to the nearest school or the child’s catchment area school. The changes, which were implemented from September 1, 2024, were designed to make the authority’s home to school transport policy fair to all families, responsible and affordable. Providing school transport is one of the three largest areas of the council’s expenditure, now costing the council £52.5m a year – alongside adult social care and waste management. If the policy had not been revised, then the rising cost of home to school travel could have had a crippling effect on the other services the council must deliver by law. The review aims to evaluate the effectiveness, success and overall impact of the revised policy. It will also focus on assessing challenges encountered during the rollout, monitor if the intended objectives have been achieved and collect ideas to improve future efforts. Under the revised policy:  Free transport is provided for eligible pupils to the nearest school to their home address.  Support is provided with travel to a child who lives within the statutory walking distance to their catchment or nearest suitable school if the route has been assessed as “unsafe” and there is no other alternative route below the statutory walking distance.  All contracted routes used to take pupils to school are risk assessed.  Discretionary powers have been extended for the eligibility of travel assistance for secondary age pupils from low-income families to attend one of their three nearest suitable schools within two to 12 miles. This is to reflect the rural context of the county and ensure low-income families in rural areas are supported. Cllr Dadd said: “We listened to people’s views and consulted widely on the proposals before the new policy was introduced. “We introduced the new policy to make sure that frontline services can be protected due to the escalating costs of providing home to school transport. “We continue to listen to feedback and are committed to the review of the policy next summer.”