Agenda Item * For publication Bedford Borough Council – Mayor Date of Meeting: May 2013 Report by: Councillor Henry Vann, Portfolio Holder for Education Margaret Dennison, Executive Director for Children’s Services, Schools and Families Subject: TRANSPORT POLICY 1. Executive Summary 1.1 Bedford Borough Children’s Services are required to review Post – 16 transport policy and consult if necessary before 31st May each year. The council must publish the Further Education (Post – 16) Transport policy within a reasonable timescale after 31st May each year. 1.2 There are two elements of transport policy in Children’s Services which are affected by this review. • Mainstream School Transport • Further Education (Post – 16) Transport 1.3 There are proposed changes to Further Education (Post – 16) Transport detailed in this report; the proposed changes were issued for consultation between 16 April and 14 May 2013. 1.4 In addition it is proposed that Mainstream School Transport policy and the Further Education (Post-16) Transport policy are merged to form one document with clearer definitions called ‘Education Transport Policy.’ 2. Recommendations 2.1 The Mayor is requested to consider this report and, if satisfied, to agree; • That the revised ‘Education Transport Policy’ (Appendix 1) be published. *(1) 3. Reasons For Recommendations 3.1 The 2010 Post 16 Transport Policy Guidance produced by the Department for Education (issued June 2010) states that Local Authorities have a duty to produce a Transport Policy Statement. The statement should be reviewed and consulted upon before 31st May each year. The statement should be published in a reasonable timescale for the upcoming academic year. The guidance suggests that the policy should have due regard to all educational activity between the ages of 16 – 18 and support participation in Education and Training. 3.2 There are 4 key areas of policy change in the revised policy, all relate to Further Education (Post – 16) Transport Policy, the appeals proposals, proposal 4 below, relates to all Education Transport Policy; 1) Proposal 1 – Eligibility criteria for students of post statutory school age 2) Proposal 2 – Charges for post statutory school age transport 3) Proposal 3 - Transport arrangements for post statutory school age Pupils 4) Proposal 4 – Appeals process for pupils who have been refused free or subsidised transport 3.3 Further detail about the proposals can be found in Section 5. 4. Key Implications 4.1 This section of the report identifies the implications of the report Legal Issues 4.2 Part 9 of the Education Act 1996 (the Act) contains statutory duties in relation to the provision of school transport, including the requirement to publish a statement of school transport policy in regard to post 16 year old pupils. The School Information (England) Regulations 2008 require the Council to publish general arrangements and policies in respect of transport for pupils of compulsory school age. Section 509AA of the Act requires that ‘a Local Education Authority shall prepare for each academic year a Transport Policy Statement’. It provides that the ‘statement shall specify the arrangements for the provision of transport or otherwise that the Authority consider it necessary to make for facilitating the attendance of persons of sixth form age receiving education or training’. 4.3 These duties are respectively complemented by statutory guidance issued by the Secretary of State for Education to which the Council must have regard. The statutory guidance requires that published Council policy should include a clear and comprehensive statement of transport arrangements, explaining statutory and discretionary provision and how parents can hold local authorities to account through their appeals processes. *(2) 4.4 The statutory guidance confirms that parents are responsible for ensuring their child’s regular attendance at school and local authorities are under a duty to provide home to school transport, where necessary, to enable them to enforce attendance. Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 states that the child shall not be taken to have failed to attend regularly at the school if the parent proves that the local authority fails to make appropriate transport arrangements under Section 508. However Section 9 of the Education Act 1996 provides that in exercising all duties and powers under the Educations Acts, the local authorities must have regard to the general principle that pupils are to be educated in accordance with their parents wishes, so far as that is compatible with the provision of efficient instruction and training and the avoidance of unreasonable expenditure. Policy Issues 4.5 The Council currently issues two policies related to Education Transport. Firstly the ‘Travel Arrangements Policy’ relates to Statutory School Age (up to age 16 – Year 11). Secondly, the Post – 16 Travel Arrangements Policy relates to post Statutory School Age (ages 16 – 18 – Years 12 and 13). 4.6 Both policies have general statements of transport policy, the review undertaken suggests that the statements could be made clearer and paragraphs should be numbered in order to enable the public to see the explicit link to policy of decisions made. 4.7 Transport policy links to ‘An Aspiring Borough’ in the Sustainable Communities Strategy 2009 – 2021. A good transport policy supports the children and young people in the Bedford Borough to lead safe, healthy and happy lives and are provided with opportunities to develop their self-esteem, maximise their life chances and realise their full potential 4.8 Transport policy links to Bedford Borough Corporate Plan - Priority Area 3 – Children and Young People. A good transport policy enables Children and Young people to access education and training in order to achieve their aspirations. 4.9 The proposed revision of the Post – 16 element of School Transport Policy means that eligible pupils will be supported to access learning opportunities at schools, colleges and other settings such as training providers providing they are within Bedford Borough. This supports Raising the Participation Age (RPA) by enabling pupils to participate in education up to the age of 18 (end of Year 13) from 2015, although it should be noted that statutory school leaving age will remain at 16 (end of Year 11). 4.10 The Executive Meeting on 12th September 2012 resolved to identify £50,000 of savings in Transport by 2015/16. This proposal contributes c£17,000 based on recent uptake. Resource Implications 4.11 The proposals with clarify Education Transport Policy and therefore make the administration of the policy more efficient and effective. The proposed changes will mean that decisions can be taken with specific reference to a point of policy and appeals can be conducted on this *(3) basis. The proposals will achieve a full year saving of c£17,000 in the financial year 2014/15, as per section 5.14. The additional £33,000 savings will be achieved through the transport team by re-commissioning transport service. 4.12 The 2013/2014 transport costs relating to Mainstream transport are £2,480,140 (net budget £2,347,270) and post 16 transport costs are £251,160 (net budget £45,160). Risk Implications 4.12 The Council may be subject to legal challenge if it does not publish the Transport Policy. 4.13 Clear Transport policy, particularly in appeals, means the council is less likely to be subject to an upheld case of maladministration by the Local Government Ombudsman. Environmental Implications 4.14 Education Transport is procured by Environmental Services and is done so with regard to the Local Transport Plan maintained under Section 108(3) of the Transport Act 2000. Equalities Impact 4.15 In preparing this report, due consideration has been given to the Borough Council’s statutory Equality Duty to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations, as set out in Section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010 4.16 An equality analysis has been completed. The equality analysis identified potential adverse impact for 16 – 19 year olds from low income families in regards to proposal (2) – subsidised transport for post – 16 pupils. 4.17 The policy seeks to mitigate the extent of this impact by retaining a subsidy of 50% rather than expecting low income families to pay 100% of the subsidised charge for transport. 4.18 The equality analysis concluded that no further change is required to the policy. 5. Details 5.1 There are four proposed changes to transport policy which have been consulted upon. 5.2 Proposal 1 – Eligibility criteria for students of post statutory school age: *(4) 5.3 It was proposed that the following eligibility criteria for the post statutory school age subsidised transport policy will be: • They live in Bedford Borough throughout the duration of the course. • They are enrolled and attend a full-time course up to and including level 3 (This means courses up to and including A Level). • They live at a distance of more than 3 miles from the educational institution, measured by the shortest available walking distance but not more than 20 miles by the shortest motorised route. 5.4 And providing the student meets either of the criteria below; • For students studying AS/A levels they must be attending the nearest provider of AS/A levels to their home address. In Bedford those establishments are; Bedford Academy, Hastingsbury Upper, Wootton Upper, Biddenham Upper, Sharnbrook Upper, Mark Rutherford Upper, St Thomas More RC Upper, Bedford College, Bedford 6th Form and Kimberley College. • For students studying full time vocational courses or apprenticeships they will be eligible for subsidised transport to the base of the qualification provider if a) it is in Bedford Borough and; b) providing it is not in conjunction with an AS/A level course (in this instance 3.1.4 (d) in the Education Transport Policy would apply).