Express & Star

Travel-to-school cash for special needs students facing cuts in Walsall

Council bosses are considering cutting thousands of pounds from funding that helps students aged over 16 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) get to school.

Published

Cuts to the Home to School Transport scheme could impact 97 young people in Walsall.

The current budget for the scheme is £2 million, which provides both statutory and non-statutory (post 16-transport).

The current offer is transport by taxi, mini-bus or coach which is either door-to-door or bus stop, independent travel training, personal transport budget or an independent bus pass.

Walsall Council has put forward two options for the scheme which includes firstly scrapping all forms of travel assistance for those aged between 16 and 18, and for people aged 19 and over the council would only continue to offer travel assistance through independent travel training, personal transport budget or an independent bus pass.

The second option would be scrap all travel assistance by taxi, mini bus or coach for people aged between 16 to 18 and those 19 and over – and continue to offer assistance through independent travel training, personal transport budget or an independent bus pass.

In council papers, it states: “Currently 626 children and young people receive help with Home to School Transport and of these, 62 are aged 16 to 18 years and 35 are aged 19 plus, however numbers change every year.

"There continues to be growth in eligible numbers and the overspend of this budget continues.

“There is no statutory duty to provide home to school transport for young people aged 16 to 18 (academic Year 12 & 13) with SEND and the duty for those young people with SEND aged 19 plus is to provide ‘assistance’, however this is not defined.

"The current cost of travel assistance for the 97 young people with SEND is £560,000.”

Walsall Council said: “This is a draft budget which cabinet will consider at their meeting on October 24. If approved, consultation will be undertaken.” The final recommendations will be considered in February.