Agenda and minutes

Also in attendance:

Ms L Brewer, Solicitor, Legal and Democratic Services;

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

Mrs I Winn, 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 2016/17 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.

None were disclosed.

Resolved: That; the Minutes of the meeting held on the 25th April 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 4044 and 4048 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 4044 and 4048 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 10am on Monday 5^th September, 2016, in Room B15b, 1^st Floor, County Hall, Preston.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held at 10.00am on Monday the 5th September 2016 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 Policies for 2015/16 and 2016/17, and the Policy in relation to the transport of pupils with Special Educational Needs for 2013/14.

Appeal 3999

At its meeting held on 29th February 2016, the Committee resolved:

"That Appeal 3999 be deferred in order to obtain:

  i.  Evidence from the Carer's Team to confirm the family's circumstances and the support provided to the elder sibling and how this might impact on the pupil if they took over as a young carer;

  ii.  Medical evidence in relation to the mother's health problems;

  iii.  Financial evidence in relation to the mother's household income and carer's allowance;

  iv.  Availability of a car and evidence of bus tickets;

  v.  Details of school attendance for the pupil since September 2015."

In considering the appeal further the Committee noted the information and the evidence supplied in relation to the 1:1 support provided to the pupil's elder sibling. However, the Committee noted that there was no information or evidence to support the parent's claims that the pupil might need this support at some point in the future. The Committee also noted the parent's statement in that the pupil's elder sibling would start university. There was no detail as to when this would commence or where they would be attending university. The Committee in considering this point further noted that the letter from the organisation supplied in support of the appeal was a generic letter informing parents/guardians of developments between the organisation and the Council. The Committee could therefore not determine whether the pupil concerned would or might act as a young carer in the future as there was no confirmation of their carer status.

In considering the mother's health problems, the Committee noted that no current professional medical evidence had been provided to support the appeal. However, the Committee noted that one piece of evidence relating to a Tribunal Hearing in February 2016, made reference to the mother's health problems and how this impacted on her daily life and ability to work. The Committee acknowledged the mother's health problems.

However, the Committee in considering the remaining points for deferral when the appeal was last heard in February 2016, felt that with 97% attendance record for the pupil at school  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.