Decision Maker: Cabinet
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: No
Is subject to call in?: No
County Councillor Phyl Davies left the meeting having declared a personal and prejudicial interest in this item.
Cabinet considered responses to the consultation carried out on the home to school/college transport policy with a view to introducing a new policy from July 2021. Taking into consideration the responses received, it was proposed to proceed with the proposal that elected Members no longer consider transport appeals and with the proposal relating to providing transport to Welsh-medium provision, but not to proceed with the proposal to remove the practice of reimbursing 16-19 aged learners who travel out of county to study. The £75,000 saving that this would have generated would not now be achieved.
With regard to the proposals in the draft policy to continue to provide transport to the nearest suitable school or catchment school, it was proposed that changes to catchment areas for schools should be agreed as part of local authorities’ admission arrangements, and not as part of developing a Home to School/College Transport Policy. This would be taken forward as the new School Admissions Policy for admissions in September 2021 was developed and consulted upon.
The Chair of the Learning and Skills Scrutiny Committee welcomed that Cabinet had listened to the views expressed in the consultation with regard to removing the practice of reimbursing post 16 learners who travelled out of county for their studies. The Cabinet noted the recommendations from the Learning and Skills Scrutiny Committee and the Equality Impact Assessment.
RESOLVED to approve the revised Home to School/College Transport Policy as attached in Appendix B for implementation from July 2021, and note the specific changes identifies in section 3.1 of the report.
County Councillors Phyl Davies and James Evans returned to the meeting.
Publication date: 15/09/2020
Date of decision: 15/09/2020
Decided at meeting: 15/09/2020 - Cabinet
Accompanying Documents: