Agenda and minutes

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Members are asked to consider any Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests they may have to disclose to the meeting in relation to matters under consideration on the Agenda.

4842 - CC Y. Motala not present for this case due to conflict of interest.

Resolved: That; the Minutes of the meeting held on the 13th  July 2020 were confirmed as

an accurate record and was signed by the Chair.

An item of urgent business may only be considered under this heading where, by reason of special circumstances to be recorded in the Minutes, the Chair of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency. Wherever possible, the Chief Executive should be given advance warning of any Member's intention to raise a matter under this heading.

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The next scheduled meeting of the Committee will be held at 10.00am on the 12^th October at County Hall, Preston (subject to change due to Covid – 19).

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee will be held at 10.00am on the 12^th October at County Hall, Preston (subject to change due to Covid – 19).

The Committee is asked to consider whether, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, it considers that the public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business on the grounds that there would be a likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the appropriate paragraph of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972 as indicated against the heading of the item and that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Committee is asked to consider whether, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, it considers that the public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business on the grounds that there would be a likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the appropriate paragraph of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972 as indicated against the heading of the item and that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

(Not for Publication – Exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972.  It is considered that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interests in disclosing the information).

Please note that due to the confidential nature of the information included in this report it will not be published on the website.

4822

It was reported that a request for transport assistance had initially been refused as the pupils would not be attending their nearest suitable school,  which was 0.97 miles and within the statutory walking distance to the home address , and instead would attend school which was 2.53 miles from the home address. The pupils were therefore not entitled to free transport in accordance with the Council's policy or the law.

The family were appealing to the Committee on the grounds that they had extenuating circumstances to warrant the Committee in exercising its discretion and award transport that was not in accordance with the Council's policy or the law.

The Committee noted the appellant's summary which stated the family was appealing on:

Financial grounds:  Appellant stated monthly cost of school bus.  The appellant worked part time and stated the monthly income they got together with Universal Credit.  The appellant was the sole adult in the family home. 

Medical grounds:  The younger pupil was diagnosed with health issue and this caused difficulties with behaviour and school work.  The pupil was able to catch a bus in the morning which took them directly into the school grounds.  The appellant stated the cost of the bus fare impacted greatly on the family's budges but the younger pupil's safety was paramount which is why things were sacrificed for them to travel on the bus.  The younger pupil was vulnerable and occasionally did not know what they were doing. 

It was noted by the Committee, the appellant stated the school attended by the pupils was the nearest faith school to the family home.  The pupils formerly attended a faith school. 

The appellant stated as noted by the Committee, there were no means to transport the pupils at home.  Transport was required as soon as possible and would be needed until 2024.

The Officer's comments and review information, as noted by the Committee, stated

The Department for Education statutory guidance requires the County Council to assess transport eligibility by considering whether a place could have been allocated in the normal admissions round if the parent had included the school as a preference. It is parental preferences for schools and academies and the application of admission arrangements linked to these which informs and drives the subsequent application of the Local Authority's home to school transport policy. The Council has no statutory duty to provide transport assistance in circumstances where pupils do not attend their nearest school or academy.  The Committee noted the pupils were not attending their nearest suitable school at 0.97 miles but were attending a school at 2.53 miles from home. 

Assessing a pupil's eligibility to receive transport assistance is a two part process. Firstly, a pupil's nearest school, for transport assessment purposes, is determined. This is the school that is closest to the pupil's home, measured by the shortest walking or road route, as accepted by the County Council. The safety of the route between home and school is only considered if a pupil  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.