Agenda and minutes

*County Councillor Stansfield replaced County Councillor Perks for this meeting only.

Also in attendance:

Miss J Mort, Solicitor, Legal and Democratic Services; and

Mr G Halsall, Business Support Officer, Legal and Democratic Services.

Resolved: That;

  i.  The appointment of County Councillor S Prynn and County Councillor C Dereli as Chair and Deputy Chair of the Committee for the remainder of the 2015/16 municipal year be noted;

  ii.  The membership of the Committee following the County Council’s annual meeting be noted; and

  iii.  The Terms of Reference of the Committee be noted.

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.

County Councillor Prynn declared a non pecuniary interest in relation to appeal 33743 on the grounds that the appellant resided within her division and confirmed that she had no other association with the appellant.

Resolved: That; the Minutes of the meeting held on the 20th April 2015 be confirmed as an accurate record and be signed by the Chair.

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee will be held at 10.00am on Monday 13th July 2015 in the Former County Mess Room (John of Gaunt Room), County Hall, Preston.

Future meeting dates for the remainder of the 2015/16 municipal year are as follows:

·  13th July;

·  3rd September;

·  7th October;

·  2nd November;

·  8th December;

·  18th January 2016;

·  29th February; and

·  25th April.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held at 10.00am on Monday the 13th July 2015 in the Former County Mess Room (John of Gaunt Room), County Hall, Preston. All future meeting dates for the remainder of the 2015/16 municipal year were also noted.

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.

Resolved: That the press and public be excluded from the meeting under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, during consideration of the following item of business as 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.

(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.

(Note: Reason for exclusion – exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972. It was considered that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information).

A report was presented in respect of 5 appeals against the decision of the County Council to refuse assistance with home to school transport. For each appeal the Committee was presented with a Schedule detailing the grounds for appeal with a response from Officers which had been shared with the relevant appellant.

In considering each appeal the Committee examined all of the information presented and also had regard to the relevant policies, including the Home to Mainstream School Transport Policy for 2014/15 and 2015/16, and the Policy in relation to the transport of pupils with Special Educational Needs for 2013/14.

Appeal 3736

It was reported that a request for transport assistance had initially been refused as the pupil would not be attending their nearest suitable school, which was 0.06 miles from their home address, and instead would attend their 37th nearest school which was 2.83 miles away.

The Clerk to the Committee reported that some late additional evidence had been supplied by the mother in support of her appeal. Copies of the additional evidence were handed out to all Members present at the meeting.

In considering the appeal the Committee noted the family's circumstances the pupil's vulnerability and health problems along with the background and reasons for transferring to their current school. The Committee also noted the mother's health problems and how this affected her ability to drive. In addition the Committee also noted the reasons why the mother did not want the pupil to attend their nearest school.

In considering the appeal further, the Committee expressed concern in the way in which the incident at the pupil's previous school was handled and the implications this would have had on both the pupil and the mother in being able to return there. The Committee also noted the time it had taken to integrate the pupil in their new school and that it was the view of the Area Pupil Access Officer to recommend continuance of transport to the end of year 6 in order to support the pupil to avoid any unnecessary or further delays at this time in their primary education.

Therefore, having considered all of the mother's comments and the officer responses as set out in the Appeal Schedule, application form and supplementary evidence the Committee was persuaded that there was sufficient reason to uphold the appeal and provide travel assistance for the pupil up to the end of 2015/16 academic year to support the pupil for the remainder of their primary education.

Resolved: That;

  i.  Having considered all of the circumstances and the information as set out in the report presented, appeal 3736 be allowed on the grounds that the reasons put forward in support  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.