Agenda and minutes

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Venue: CH1:15 - County Hall, Preston. View directions

Contact: 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 02 July 2018

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 02nd July 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 02nd July 2018 was confirmed as an accurate record and 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:

4511, 4512, 4515, 4526, 4545

5.

Date of the Next Meeting

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee will be held at 10.00am on the 01st October 2018 in Room CH1:15 (first floor, Pitt Street Entrance) County Hall, Preston

Minutes:

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee will be held at 10.00am on the 01st October 2018 in Room CH1:15 (first floor, Pitt Street Entrance) 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:

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

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:

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.

 

 

Appeal 4486

It was reported that a request for transport assistance had initially  refused on the grounds  that the pupil was not attending their nearest suitable school which was 0.249 miles from home and within the statutory walking distance and instead attended their 54th nearest school which was 5.07miles away. The appellant had appealed for transport assistance and the Committee had agreed on a temporary bus pass until the end of school term, July 2018. 

The Committee noted, that the appellant was appealing for continuous transport assistance in the form of bus pass, to be agreed by the Committee and for it to continue from September 2018. 

The appellant had stated that both the children were looked after children and that the family were living on even less benefits than before and that they would find it hard to afford an extra £17.00 to cover the pupil's bus pass. It was noted that the pupil was happy and settled at the school attended.

The Officer's comments stated, as noted by the Committee, that an appeal on behalf of the pupil was approved by the Committee in April 2018 until the end of the 2017/18 academic year, i.e. July 2018.  The appellant was now re-appealing.

The Committee noted, as stated by the Officer, that both of the children of the appellant are Looked After by the Local Authority.  The Social Worker confirmed that the elder sibling struggled at their previous school and was transferred to the present school on a managed move.  They were, therefore, given assistance in the form of a bus pass to enable them to settle in the new school.  The Social Worker continued to support the appeal for transport assistance for the pupil, noting that they were on a full care order which made the Local Authority a corporate parent with parental responsibility.

It was noted by the Committee, as the Officer stated, that the family had not supplied evidence of low income.  However the pupil and their sibling were eligible for free school meals, and the Social Worker confirmed that a significant chunk of the family finances were spent on transport to school. 

The Committee noted that the appellant had applied for housing in the area where the pupil was attending school as it would be better for the family, however no further progress on this front had been reported.

It has been brought to the Committee's attention that the elder sibling was in the last year of their school and would be transferring to high school in a different area  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.