Agenda item

Report ED15085

The Portfolio Holder introduced a report outlining the results of a review of the Local Authority’s Transport Assistance policy for children and young people, undertaken to ensure that service provision continued to be fit for purpose following a range of reforms recently made to education and special education and the introduction of Education, Health and Care Plans through the Children and Families Act 2014.  The review considered a wide menu of transport assistance service offers which aimed to support the individual assessed needs of children and young people, whilst meeting the Local Authority’s statutory duties to provide suitable travel arrangements for eligible children and young people resident in Bromley to access their education or special education provision. 

In considering the draft Special Educational Needs Transport policy, Members discussed the potential benefits and associated costs of introducing muster points, and underlined the importance of supporting children and young people to develop better travel awareness, which could also help them develop skills in preparation for the travel training programme where appropriate.  The Business and Planning Manager, Education, Care and Health Services advised Members that in introducing muster points, there would be a need to assess the health and safety aspects of individual user’s routes to the muster point from their home.  The business case had identified 283 potential users and 61 proposed muster points.  In delivering the muster point scheme, there would also be a requirement to undertake a number of new health and safety assessments in consideration of annual route planning, as well as conducting health and safety risk assessments for new users or users whose requirements had changed.  Members of the Committee expressed doubts about the need for a full-time officer to undertake this work and it was agreed that the Portfolio Holder for Education be recommended not to defer the introduction of muster points as recommended in the report.

A Co-opted Member underlined the importance of consulting with service users and their parents or carers before introducing any changes to the current Special Educational Needs Transport strategy.  A Member was also concerned that young people who used wheelchairs were currently excluded from the data used in the business case for the introduction of muster points, but was advised that wheelchair users would be considered in the event that muster points were introduced.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to:

1)  Note the information relating to Special Educational Needs reforms, the introduction of Education, Health and Care Plans and the impact upon the provision of Special Educational Needs transport;

2)  Consider the contents of the business case and agree:

i)  To progress the introduction of muster points into Bromley;

ii)  To progress the offer of personal budgets to all parents of children who are in  receipt of sole transport and, in a very limited number of cases, where the offer of personal budgets to individual parents is in the interests of both the Council and the parent; and,

iii)  To increase the mileage rate offer to 50 pence per mile

3)  Agree that the revised draft Special Educational Needs Transport Policy be progressed to the consultation stage with Special Educational Needs stakeholders, with a view to enabling its introduction with effect from the start of the 2015/16 academic year.