Agenda and minutes

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Venue: CH1:15 - County Hall, Preston

Contact: Artur Ogonowski, Hina Visavadia  Tel: (01772) 537986, Email:  appeals@lancashire.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

None.

Minutes:

CC J. Cooney

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:

None

3.

Minutes of the meeting held on 4th June

Resolved:That the minutes of the meeting held on 4th June 2018 is to be confirmed as an accurate record and to be signed by the Chair.

Minutes:

Resolved: That; the Minutes of the meeting held on the 4th June 2018 was confirmed as an accurate record and was signed by the Chair.

 

4.

Urgent Business

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.

Minutes:

None

5.

Date of the Next Meeting

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee will be held at 10.00 am on 3rd September in room CH1:15 (first floor, Pitt Street entrance), County Hall, Preston.

Minutes:

It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be on 03rd September 2018 held at 10.00am on (room to be confirmed) 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

(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.

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 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 2017/18, and the Policy in relation to the transport of pupils with Special Educational Needs for 2013/14.

 

Appeal 4458

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 0.9 miles from their home address, and instead would attend a school which was 15.8 miles away from home. 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 that when the family lived in the house in the previous area, the appellant's partner paid for the pupils' school transport.  That house had now been sold to pay the partner's debts and maintenance had not been agreed, as court proceedings were still ongoing and officials were also involved. 

The appellant, as noted by the Committee, was now living with her family in the present area and would not be able to purchase a house until the legal proceedings are concluded: the appellant intended to find a house near the school where the pupils attended.  As things stood, it would seem that the appellant drove the pupils to the area where they lived previously to catch the school bus.  The appellant's partner was refusing to pay those travel costs or for school meals.

It was noted by the Committee, the appellant stated the pupils were doing well at the school they attended and were at an important point in their school careers, in the middle of their GCSE courses.

 

The Committee noted the Officer's comments which stated Transport assistance had been refused as there were many schools closer to the new address.  It is parental preference 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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.