SIR,

School transport, is an area of overspend by Monmouthshire County Council that needs to be closely examined in the current climate of budgetary cutbacks.

Internet research reveals that the council is one of only a few in the whole of the UK that seems to be able to afford to apply free home-to-school transport mileage limits far more generous than those legally required.

The vast majority of local authorities in the UK seem only to be able to afford the legally laid down limits. This means that they pay free school transport for pupils under eight if they live two miles or more from the school.

For primary pupils of eight or over, nearly all local authorities pay free school transport to those pupils living three miles or over from their school. For secondary school pupils nearly all local authorities require pupils to be living three miles or over from their school.

Monmouthshire also subsidises transport for those pupils in the county over 16 years who wish to attend a college basically within the old Gwent area. Again, this is not a statutory requirement.

In fact, internet research reveals only six county councils in the whole of England and Wales who operate enhanced free school transport mileage limits over the statutory requirements for primary and secondary pupils of compulsory school age. These are the county councils of Monmouthshire, Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Newport and the only one in England, Durham.

There is an historical reason for this in the cases of Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent County Councils as these county councils inherited the policy operated by the Labour controlled Gwent County Council when that county council was split up into unitary authorities.

Bridgend County Council, which operates a similar generous policy to that of Monmouthshire, has been consulting parents about moving to the legally required mileage limits. In doing so Bridgend County Council has estimated they can save £1.2million per annum.

Research also reveals that there may also be only one or two Scottish county councils operating beyond the legal limits.

With severe cutbacks due in Council spending, council tax payers in Monmouthshire should be informed how much these enhanced mileage limits cost each year so they can comment on this in the current consultations on Monmouthshire County Council's spending. They must have full information to make informed comments.

If school transport spending is to be ring fenced in future budgets then this will require greater cutbacks in other areas of the budget.

Gwent County Council proposed reducing these enhanced mileage limits to save money in 1980 but backed out of the decision at the last moment. Again, Monmouthshire County Council proposed reducing the mileage limits to the statutory limits when the Council came into being in 1996 and the policies inherited from Gwent County Council were examined. Monmouthshire, like Gwent, backed out at the last minute. These were in the days, however, when the Council had a relatively healthy financial outlook. It should be noted that the only neighbouring rural County Councils to Monmouthshire – Hereford and Powys – have always only been able to afford free school transport based on the statutory limits.

Monmouthshire County Council can probably no longer afford the enhanced school transport mileage limits introduced by Gwent County Council many years ago in the days of financial plenty.

The best way to change the mileage limits to the statutory limits would be to change them for new pupils entering primary schools in September 2014 and to let the change gradually work through  year by year as the pupils move up through the system.

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