Agenda and minutes

Also in attendance:

Ms L Brewer, Solicitor, Legal and Democratic Services;

Ms S Rawat, Solicitor, Legal and Democratic Services;

Mr G Halsall, Complaints and Appeals Officer, Legal and Democratic Services; and

Mrs I Winn, Complaints and Appeals Officer, Legal and Democratic Services.

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.

None were disclosed.

Resolved: That; the Minutes of the meeting held on the 12th December 2016 be confirmed as an accurate record and be 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.

It was noted that the paperwork for appeals 4189 and 1255501 had only been finalised after the agenda had been circulated. As a result, the Chair had been consulted and had agreed that these appeals could be presented to the meeting under urgent business in order to avoid any delay in determining them.

Resolved: That, appeals 4189 and 1255501 as circulated to the Members of the Committee, be considered alongside other appeals at the meeting.

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee will be held at 10.00am on Monday 6^th March 2017, in room B15b, County Hall, Preston.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held at 10.00am on Monday the 6th March 2017 in Room B15b, County Hall, Preston.

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 16 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 2016/17, and the Policy in relation to the transport of pupils with Special Educational Needs for 2013/14.

Appeal 4203

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 2.9 miles from their home address, and instead would attend their 9th nearest school which was 5.7 miles away. The pupil was 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.

In considering the fathers appeal the committee noted that the family were seeking transport assistance as the home they had purchased was undergoing refurbishment and during this time the family were in rented accommodation while the work was being carried out.  The father states that the pupil struggles in some subjects and has only recently become settled at school and thinks it unfair and not in the pupil's best interest to move to a nearer school while at the temporary rented address.  The Committee noted that the pupil had previously been awarded transport assistance under the previous more generous transport policy and due to the move of address their entitlement had been reassessed and as a result they no longer qualified for assistance.  The Committee was reminded that the Council's Transport Policy was previously more generous and entitlement to Transport had changed from September 2016, to emphasise that the nearest school would be considered as part of the Council's assessment process for eligibility with transport assistance. When the pupil changes address once the house move has taken place the entitlement to transport assistance will again be reassessed.  The Committee noted that the Council was not suggesting that the pupil should move schools, but that there was simply a refusal to provide free travel to the school attended as the pupil was not attending the nearest school.

In considering the appeal further the Committee in considering the family's financial circumstances noted that they were not in a position  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.