‘Shockingly awful’ - Councillor criticises plans to increase non-entitled school bus fares to £1,000 in Northampton

An opposition councillor has branded West Northamptonshire Council’s proposed changes to the current Home to School Transport services as “shockingly awful.”

Councillor Danielle Stone, who represents the Castle ward under Labour claims the service that children and families have been getting is poor, but she says new proposals fail to address this.

The council is looking to review the non-entitled transport scheme, which allows parents to pay for a bus place if their child is not eligible for the free service.

The current proposal is to increase the cost of a bus pass for children up to the age of 16 from £600 to £1,000 starting from September 2024, after having not been reviewed in more than a decade. Other proposed changes to the scheme include only offering seats if spare capacity is available on existing contracted services.

Cllr Stone said: “Who on earth can afford that?

“All families are already under a huge amount of financial pressure

“This is just adding to the pain and making it more and more likely that some children won’t be going to school now because they can’t afford to

“I think it’s entirely shocking.”

Councillor Phil Larratt, who is the cabinet member for Environment, Transport, Highways, and Waste said West Northamptonshire’s fee is “no longer consistent” with other local authorities.

He said: “The current Home to School Transport fees and policies have not been reviewed for over a decade and we are aware that we are no longer consistent with other similar local authorities in terms of the support for travel assistance that is available.

“This is in addition to increasing demand for Home to School Transport for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, and other special transport requirements in addition to increasing transport costs caused by rising fuel prices, wages and inflation which have resulted in increased contract prices.

“It is really important that we listen to and carefully consider the views of parents, carers, and children and young people who may be affected by these proposals so we can ensure the service continues to meet the needs of our community, so I would encourage people to take part in this consultation and get involved.”

Cllr Stone, however, thinks the council should consider bringing the service back in-house, rather than outsourcing to private companies. She believes doing so would make the service cheaper and more flexible.

“What I’m hoping for is a change of attitude, which puts children first” said Cllr Stone.

West Northamptonshire Council is inviting parents and carers to have a say on the proposed changes at three-drop in events at the council’s offices.

These will take place in Northampton (May 2), Towcester (May 4), and Daventry (TBC).

However, Cllr Stone is concerned about the way the consultation process itself is being run.

She said: “I’m not sure how you know it (the invitation) is on the website.

“As councillors, we get notifications, but I’m not sure the parents do. I’m not sure the schools do.”

Find out more information on the consultation process and how to get involved here.