Delay on funding cuts to school transport praised
PARENTS of disabled children affected by potential cuts to funding for school transport have welcomed the county council's decision to defer any policy change for six months.
Councillor Heather Smith (Con, Prebendal), cabinet member for transport, minerals and waste, announced on Tuesday that in view of the "strong feeling" generated by the proposed change in policy, a fuller consultation needed to be carried out.
Hazel Howe, whose son Thomas, aged 17, of Green?elds School, Goldings, has cerebral palsy, could be forced to pay an extra 2,000 a year if the council withdraws transport funding.
She said: "Obviously we have won the battle but we've not won the war. The council have held their hands up because of the sheer scale of publicity.
"It's not over and I will be getting a petition together which we will present to Northamptonshire County Council. All they have done is give us a reprieve."
Lorraine Roberts, of Hartwell, whose son, Christopher, aged 16, is autistic and has been taken to a special school in Northampton by council-funded transport because he is not able to travel alone, said: "It's a step in the right direction.
"I'm not really sure how it will work as at the moment you commit yourself for a year in September. It shows the council have listened and realised that maybe they did leave it too late in the day to consult with parents.
"When you have a disabled son you have much less choice about where you can send them to school. I'm still going to have a problem in January to pay for the extra transport costs."
Councillor Smith has said she hoped that a "sliding scale" could be constructed so that a parent of a disabled child earning just over the 16,000 a year threshold did not have to pay the full 50 per cent transport costs.
Diane Lyman, of Delapre, whose disabled son attends Northgate School in Northampton, said: "It's great news, it will cost me nearly 1,500 to take my son to school. It shows it was worth all the hard work and it's better that they are looking at cases on an individual basis."
Delay on funding cuts to school transport praised
By Callum Jones
Chronicle Reporter
callum.jones@northantsnews.co.uk
Hazel Howe, pictured with her 17-year-old son, Thomas, says the battle has been won but not the war and, left, previous stories in the Chronicle & Echo
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