Agenda and minutes

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Venue: CHG 03 - County Hall, Preston

Contact: Hina Visavadia/Artur Ogonowski  Email: appeals@lancashire.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

CC C Edwards

Minutes:

CC C Edwards

2.

Disclosure of Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests

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.

Minutes:

CC C Wakeford – 4339d – conflict of interest.

3.

Minutes of the meeting held on 4th September 2017

Minutes:

Resolved: That; the Minutes of the meeting held on the 04th September 2017 be confirmed as an accurate record and be signed by the Chair.

 

4.

Urgent Business

None

Minutes:

It was noted that the paperwork appeal 4342 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 it.

 

Resolved: That, appeals were circulated to the Members of the Committee, to be considered alongside other appeals at the meeting.

 

5.

Date of the Next Meeting

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee will be held at 10.00am on the 6th November 2017 at County Hall.

Minutes:

It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held at 10.00am on Monday 06th November 2017,Room G02, County Hall, Preston

 

6.

Exclusion of the Press and Public

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.

Minutes:

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.

 

7.

Student Support Appeals

Please note that due to the confidential nature of the information included in this report it will not be published on the website.

 

(Not for Publication-Exemption 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 interest in disclosing the information).

 

Minutes:

(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 25 appeals and 1 urgent business 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 2015/16, and the Policy in relation to the transport of pupils with Special Educational Needs for 2013/14.

 

Appeal 4114

 

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 4.81 miles from their home address, and instead would attend their 11th nearest school which was 9.36 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 appeal, it was noted that the appellant stated that they had no other choice than to send the pupil to the chosen school given the pupils difficulties with the child's health issue.  The pupil was diagnosed at an early age and has subsequently received support throughout nursery and their time at primary school.  This support has taken the form of Teaching Assistants specifically assigned to the pupil and the pupil is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance due to the condition. 

The Appellant advises that the pupil portrays many of the traits associated with a specific health condition.  Due to these reasons the appellant feels that the pupil will need the support of siblings who are already in attendance at the school of choice. 

 

The Appellant believes that the sibling's support will be particularly important to the pupil when travelling to and from school.  The Appellant feels that the siblings are well aware of pupil's condition and not only are they well versed in managing situations that may arise involving the pupil but they will also ensure that the pupil arrives on time in the morning and then catches the bus home at the end of the day without being exposed to the risks, such as road safety, that the appellant claims are heightened by this condition.

 

The Appellant adds that the school the pupil is attending is aware of the pupil's condition and are committed to working  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.