Consultation - Special Educational Needs (SEN) & mainstream Home to School Transport Policies - Deadline 21st Dec 2017

5th Oct 2017

Leicestershire County Council (LCC) is currently undergoing a significant period of change. The council has to make £66m of savings over the next four years, this is on top of the £161m saved since 2010 – this means difficult decisions about services in all areas of the council’s work.

Currently, LCC provides transport to nursery and school/college for approximately 400 children with SEN under five, and between the ages of 16-19.

They do not have a statutory duty to provide this in the same way they do for children aged 5-16.

The proposals being considered are:

• Reducing the level of discount available to children and young people from low income families for transport to nursery and post 16 education
• To stop offering council arranged taxis and minibuses to transport SEN students to post 16 education and offer a Personal Transport Budget instead
• To stop providing transport to post 16 education for eligible mainstream post 16 students

No decisions about these proposals have yet been made.

LCC is committed to a wide consultation on these proposals before making any decisions.

If, following consultation, any proposals are agreed these would be implemented from September 2019.

How to give your views on the consultation:

Your views are important so that LCC can better understand how the proposals could affect you and how they can make any changes work best for you.

Tell them how this might affect you/your service users/community groups by accessing the online link to the consultation info and questionnaire, including easy read versions:

www.leicestershire.gov.uk/school-transport-policy-changes

For general enquires or comments about this consultation, or to request a paper copy please phone 0116 305 0002 or email passengertransport@leics.gov.uk 

Consultation events:

During the consultation, LCC will also be holding a series of meetings to provide information to help people/groups to submit views on the proposals.

The dates and venues for the consultation events confirmed so far are:

• 9th October – Dorothy Goodman School Hall, lower site, Stoke Road, Hinckley, 6.30pm
• 11th October - Birkett House School Hall, Station Road, Wigston, 6.30pm

Additional dates and venues will be confirmed and published on the LCC website shortly – www.leicestershire.gov.uk/school-transport-policy-changes

Public consultation: Submit your views by midnight on 21st December 2017