AGENDA ITEM NO. 9

REPORT TO: Executive Board

REPORT NO: HHPPE/51/14

DATE: 10 June 2014

LEAD MEMBER: Councillor Michael Williams (Children’s Services and Education)

Lead Member (Environment)

CONTACT OFFICER: Darren Williams (Tel: 729629)

SUBJECT: Post 16 Education Transport Policy

WARD: All

1. PURPOSE OF THE REPORT

To seek Elected Members’ approval to carry out a consultation exercise regarding revisions to the Council’s policy for travel arrangements for learners in Post-16 education or training.

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2.1 This report outlines the current situation with regards to Post-16 education transport and the implications of our current policy.

2.2 Post-16 education transport is discretionary as there is no statutory requirement for local Councils to provide or organise this. However, the Learner Travel measure obliges Authorities to assess the travel needs of those up to the age of 19. Historically, too many young people in have left education at age 16 and not progressed to further education, employment or training. The Council has worked very hard with partner agencies to reduce the number of young people Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) over recent years with some considerable success, as recognised nationally by Estyn and Welsh Government. Care must be taken to ensure that changes to the transport arrangements for Post-16 learners does not have a detrimental effect on this situation.

2.3 Wrexham County Borough Council currently spends £370,764 annually on transport for Post-16 learners. This includes transport to Yale Campus, which the Council traditionally has supported, as well as transport to a range of other institutions outside of the County, including Coleg Cambria Deeside Campus and their Llysfasi campus near . Although our policy is to arrange transport only to the nearest institution with a relevant course, the expansion of specialist courses not available locally has led to increased demand to institutions outside the County. This is the case where the student’s desired course has a considerable variation with those on offer at the nearest institution.

2.4 The current policy relating to Post-16 transport is unsustainable on financial grounds and it leaves the Council liable to transport students long distances to attend specialist courses.

2.5 Previously, in situations where colleges wished to attract students from beyond their local area, the colleges have arranged transport for students at no cost to the students. Bus operators generally offer discounted weekly and longer period tickets for students which would minimise any additional cost and offer some benefit to the students by allowing them to use all services of the operator concerned.

2.6 Other Authorities in Wales have started to reduce their entitlement to transport and the main ways that they have done so are either to withdraw the entitlement for transport for Post-16 students to institutions outside of their borders or alternatively introduce a charging regime that can vary significantly between Authorities.

2.7 To address the issues surrounding discretionary educational transport a Cross Departmental Working Group was established in October 2013 to recommend a policy going forward with regards to discretionary education transport. The recommendation of the Working Group was to withdraw the provision of Post-16 transport.

2.8 In order for changes in transport arrangements to take effect in September 2015, the changes in policy need to take place prior to September 2014. This is due to the need to notify parents and learners of the transport arrangements prior to 1 October of the preceding year in order for them to consider this in their decision as to which school or college to attend.

3. RECOMMENDATIONS

3.1 That Members permit Officers to undertake a formal consultation with stakeholders, presenting the following options:-

• restricting transport to sites within Wrexham only; • institute a charge (which could vary according to the distance); • devolve funding to the colleges/schools; • cease current transport arrangements for Post-16 students.

3.2 That Members receive a further report in September 2014 which will identify a preferred option for approval prior to any policy amendments.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

(i) The current policy is unsustainable on financial grounds and it leaves the Council liable to transport students long distances to attend specialist courses.

(ii) In order that any policy amendments are approved prior to publication by 1 October 2014.

4. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

4.1 In Wales traditionally there has been free transport provided to the identified local college and local sixth forms and this has been retained in many areas. However, with financial restrictions many Councils have changed their policies and the most common changes have either been to introduce charges or to restrict transport to sites within the county or other nearby sites (Appendix A). This is to avoid the obligation to transport students long distances for specialist courses that are not available locally.

Current Situation in Wrexham

4.2 Wrexham County Borough Council currently spends £370,647 on transport for Post- 16 students. A significant proportion of this is for dedicated yellow buses to Yale College and these account for 42% of the total Post-16 transport budget currently (this is the pro rata cost as they are also used for secondary school transport). Some journeys mainly serve students in Shropshire (largely the Oswestry and Gobowen areas) and the costs of these (as well as any transport provided on request to Coleg Cambria) are recharged to Coleg Cambria and are not included in the figures above.

4.3 Currently 41% of the Post-16 transport costs are for transport to out of county institutions. For a small number of these students the out of county institution would be the nearest, but for others this is due to the course chosen, as (for example) no land based, agricultural or horticultural courses are offered in Wrexham. In addition to dedicated buses to some sites, we also provide bus passes for use on the largest commercial provider (Arriva). The use of these passes is much more cost effective than a dedicated bus, as the per day cost per student is only £1.16.

Assumption of Costs for some Deeside College Students

4.4 Yale College merged with Deeside College (which also includes Coleg Llysfasi and the former Welsh College of Horticulture in Northop) from 1 August 2013 to create Coleg Cambria. Officers from Coleg Cambria met with the Council’s Integrated Transport Unit (ITU) staff and the assumption from the college’s point of view was that the Council would assume the costs for some students whose transport costs are currently being met by the college. Due to the former competitive situation between the two colleges Deeside had been offering free transport across the board to almost all students who wanted to attend the college from Wrexham. (Similarly Yale College had done the same from many areas of and ). However, the college subsequently expected us (Wrexham County Borough Council) to pay for the transport of all students whose course cannot be taken at a nearer location, in line with our current Post-16 transport policy.

Situation elsewhere in Wales

4.5 Other Authorities in Wales have changed their polices in recent years with the goal of reducing their expenditure on transport to students over 16. Only four other Authorities currently have a similar policy to Wrexham, with the remainder limiting their transport to sites within the county, instituting a charge or devolving funding and responsibility to the colleges (although in some cases the official policy is to offer a grant to the student in the latter case).

4.6 In spite of the transport policy of the Council concerned our research has found that some colleges offer more generous provision than the local Council’s policy (mainly in South Wales). In this respect such provision is similar to the recent practice of competing colleges in providing free transport to as many students as possible regardless of where they live or the policy of the Council.

4.7 One major difference in the more densely populated areas of South Wales (particularly in the area between Swansea and Newport, but less so in the valleys) is that bus passes tend to be issued which are valid on all services of the local network provider, who will then provide additional capacity where required.

4.8 In all Authorities there could be differences between transport to school sixth forms and colleges. In many cases de facto provision is more generous to sixth forms as students can use school buses that are operating to the sites in any instance (as in Wrexham) as opposed to local buses or dedicated college buses.

Options for Change

4.9 The merger of Deeside and Yale colleges and the subsequent request for the Council to assume the transport costs of many students who live in Wrexham means that the budget for this area has increased by approximately £88,000 annually. These costs will continue unless the policy is changed.

4.10 There are several options that would lower the cost of providing Post-16 transport and the main options are detailed below:-

Option 1 - Limit Transport to Sites within Wrexham only (with limited exceptions)

4.11 One way to reduce costs is to limit the provision of free transport to institutions within Wrexham County Borough Council only. This would mean that we would only provide transport to Wrexham students attending Coleg Cambria’s Yale Campus or one of the sixth forms at Morgan Llwyd, Maelor School, Penley or Ysgol Rhiwabon (if the latter two were nearer to the student than Yale). There may be a small number of cases where transport to an institution outside of the county may be nearer but these would be identified in the initial stages of the policy.

4.12 The annual cost savings to the Council from this change to the policy would be approximately £154,000 annually.

Option 2 – Instituting a Charge, which could vary according to distance

4.13 Gwynedd and Ynys Mon in North Wales have a system where students are charged either on a flat fee basis or alternatively according to distance. If the most costly (to students) Gwynedd scheme were imposed (so that we could charge £180 in county or £300 out of county) and assuming 40% occupancy on the dedicated Coleg Cambria buses (for which use varies significantly during the year) this would generate savings of £98,000. This is lower than the savings generated by Option 1, but could be a fairer option, as students attending out of county institutions would only spend £120 more over the course of an academic year.

4.14 However, it would require more administrative work on the part of the ITU and/or colleges and it would still leave the Council open to providing longer journeys to access specialised courses.

4.15 In addition, the Council would still be partly subsidising the Deeside students and any other students attending out of county institutions who may be eligible.

Option 3 – Devolve the Funding to Colleges

4.16 Some Authorities, mainly in South Wales, devolve the funding for their Post-16 students to the colleges, though transport to sixth forms in school is still generally organised by the Council. Policy wise this is also expressed in terms of a travel grant, where,for example, the Council pays (as in Blaenau Gwent) £285 per eligible student.

4.17 Under this system the Council would pay a certain amount for each eligible student to the college and it would be completely up to the college how the grant would be spent. The college could add some funding to this themselves to offer a bus pass or a seat on a dedicated bus, depending upon the circumstances.

4.18 Currently (using roughly estimated figures) the Council spends approximately £866 per student per year (for Post-16). This appears to be high compared to the cost of mainstream school transport (approximately £600 per pupil per year) and if the grant was reduced to £600 per year for post-16 students it would save approximately £114,000.

4.19 This option has many advantages to the Council, mainly in terms of reducing the administrative burden of organising transport, which would transfer to the colleges. It would also enable, if desired, the college to ‘top up’ the grant so that the student did not pay any out of pocket costs. Although this option would not take into account the higher travel costs of some students (notably those living in more isolated areas who would depend on taxis or minibuses) it would reimburse the full cost of lower cost students, particularly those who were able to travel by local bus services. It is likely that colleges would use the savings from transporting lower cost students to fund the transport for higher cost students.

Option 4 – Withdrawing Support completely for Post-16 Travel

4.20 This option would generate the most savings for the Council as the full savings would be realised. It would be equitable in that no Wrexham County Borough Council support for Post-16 transport would be provided and consequently there would be no issues of providing support for some students and not for others.

4.21 The total withdrawal of travel may mean that some students no longer take up their courses and there could be issues with equality of access to education and training for learners from more disadvantaged families. It may also go against general Council policies on education, where supporting students over the age of 16 to obtain further qualifications has been a major priority.

Other Options for Consideration

4.22 There can clearly be variations on the above options and a common additional criteria is some sort of a distance limit. For example, it would be possible for Wrexham to state that under no circumstance would transport be provided to an institution over 50 kms or 30 miles away from the student’s residence.

Future of Yellow Buses to Yale College

4.23 Currently the majority of free transport to Coleg Cambria is provided by dedicated yellow school buses. The use of these varies considerably and some are better used than others. Almost all of these buses experience a drop off in use after October as students change or abandon their courses.

4.24 At the same time students have expressed a desire for their transport to be more flexible, as the times of their courses do not always correspond well to the times of the dedicated college buses. For reasons of cost as well as offering a more appropriate provision to students we intend to significantly increase the use of bus passes for the transport of college students and reduce the dedicated provision following the expiry of the yellow school bus contract in July 2014.

4.25 There may clearly be cases where the existing bus network does not have the capacity to transport college students. In these cases we will tender for dedicated buses where required, but we will do this on a short term basis so that they can be withdrawn if and when numbers drop off. We will also continue to provide dedicated transport to more isolated areas where the bus network does not provide an adequate service. This provision will only apply until the policy is changed.

4.26 Policy Framework – There is no statutory requirement to transport students over the mandatory school leaving age to their educational establishment. However, Welsh Government and Wrexham Council policies encourage students to continue their education after the age of 16 to acquire additional skills or study for further qualifications that would enable students to attend university.

4.27 Budget – The current annual spending on Post-16 transport is estimated at £370,647. The merger between Deeside and Yale resulted in additional costs to the Council of £88,000 as a result of our current transport policy, and the figures could increase further as a result of more students attending institutions outside of the local area.

4.28 Legal – Services that are modified or withdrawn need to follow the cancellation or modification conditions of contract relating to the services concerned. The Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008 requires a Local Authority to assess the travel needs of all learners up to the age of 19. Although there is no duty to provide transport arrangements the Authority has a power to make any arrangement they think fit to facilitate the travel of learners to and from where they receive education or training.

4.29 Staffing - There are no staffing issues.

4.30 Equality/Human Rights – An Equality Impact Assessment will be completed for any proposed policy amendments and the outcomes included in the future report to Executive Board.

4.31 Risks – None.

5. CONSULTATION

5.1 The following stakeholders should be included in the consultation exercise:-

• all Post-16 institutions where we currently send learners; • all Wrexham secondary and special schools, including those who provide a Post- 16 offer; • learners and parents of learners resident in Wrexham; • neighbouring Local Authorities where they provide Post-16 education at schools accessed by Wrexham Learners.

5.2 It is proposed that the consultation process is managed jointly by the Environment Service and Lifelong Learning Department, with the Head of Lifelong Learning writing formally to all organisations identified above, seeking their response to the options identified.

5.3 There would also be a web based consultation exercise and meetings with specific focus groups, managed by the Environment Service, including the use of an on-line survey tool or an e-mail response system to gather the public's views.

6. EVALUATION OF OPTIONS

6.1 Option 1 – Limit Transport to Sites within the Wrexham County Borough Council Area

This would limit eligibility for transport to sites within the Wrexham County Borough Council area, except in cases where another location was closer. Transport to sites outside the area could still be provided by the colleges themselves, as was the case in many instances prior to September 2013. This would produce cost savings of approximately £154,000 annually.

6.2 Option 2 – Instituting a Charge, which could vary according to distance

Some Authorities manage Post-16 transport but provide a charge for this. While this would result in some cost savings (which would depend on the charge) the eligibility would not change and consequently the Council could still be liable to transport students long distances for specialised courses. In addition, this would increase the administrative burden on the Council, as Officers would have to collect the payments from the students or their parents.

6.3 Option 3 – Devolving Funding to Colleges

This option would allocate a budget to each college or other Post-16 institution, who would then organise transport for eligible students. They could offer students a bus pass or a seat on a dedicated bus, depending upon the circumstances. This would have the advantage of removing much of the administrative burden on the Council, but would not realise the full extent of possible savings.

6.4 Option 4 – Cease Transport for Post-16 Students

This would end the Council support for the transport of Post-16 students but would provide the largest savings (£370,000) for the Council. This may impact on student numbers if students had to pay. Mitigating measures for students would include discounted bus tickets provided by many operators.

7. SCRUTINY COMMITTEE COMMENTS

7.1 This report has not been considered by Scrutiny Committee.

BACKGROUND PAPERS LOCATION WEBSITE INFO

None.

Appendix A

Post 16 Transport Policies in Wales

Authority Free Cost if not Out of Notes Transport free county? TAITH Wrexham Y Y Flintshire Y N Limited out of county sites Denbighshire Y Y Conwy Y Y Under review Gwynedd N £60-100/ term N Llangefni is only out of county site permitted Ynys Mon N £60 per year Y Out of county to nearby areas of Gwynedd TraCC Powys Y N Ceredigion Y Y SWWITCH Pembrokeshire Y N Carmarthenshire Y N Swansea N £205-280 / year Y Loophole may result in free transport out of county Neath Port Talbot N Varies – admin Y “Provide assistance” to out of fee county SEWTA Bridgend Y Small admin Y fee Vale of Y Small admin Y Under review Glamorgan fee Cardiff N Exception is Y low income Caerphilly Y Y Rhondda Cynon Y Y Some limitations Taff Merthyr Tydfil Y Y Some limitations Blaenau Gwent N £225 grant Y Torfaen N Exception is Y Some limitations low income, grant provided for others Newport Y Y Seems to vary by institution Monmouthshire N Varies Y