North Yorkshire Council accused of 'reckless' school transport policy amid snow and ice
North Yorkshire Council has been accused of being “reckless and short-sighted” with its new school transport policy, amid the blanket of snow and ice covering the region.
The Conservative-run local authority brought in plans last year to restrict free home-to-school transport to pupils’ closest schools, which it said will save £3m a year from its budget.
However, furious parents have been protesting this as it has meant children going on dangerous, ungritted roads over the tops of the Dales or forsaking their free buses to school.
It’s been a particular issue in the Upper Dales, where previously youngsters largely travelled by coach along low-level A roads to Richmond.
From Swaledale, the closest school as the crow flies is in Settle, with a treacherous journey in wintery conditions, while pupils in Arkengarthdale have to go over Stang Top to Barnard Castle.
This new policy has once again come to the fore with the snowy and icy weather across Yorkshire.
The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for ice until 11am today, while five to eight centimetres of snow is expected in parts of North Yorkshire.
Six schools - including Filey Academy and the Woodlands Academy along the Scarborough coast - were forced to close yesterday.
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon said: “With snow and ice hitting North Yorkshire, the council’s home-to-school transport changes are proving reckless and short-sighted.
“Families now only get free transport to their nearest school – even if that means crossing the Upper Dales in treacherous winter conditions.
“Many parents are being forced to take longer, safer routes, sacrificing free transport and facing serious disruption.
“This policy isn’t just inconvenient – it’s hitting rural families hard, forcing tough choices that affect their livelihoods.
“Families deserve better, and I’ll keep fighting for a school transport system that works for them, not against them.”
Charlotte Fowler, of Low Row, Swaledale, was one of the campaigners who presented a petition on the controversy to the Department for Education in London.
She told The Yorkshire Post: “Children going to their nearest school isn’t practical or appropriate.
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“It’s across roads that are not gritted, it’s across mountainous roads over 400 metres high that are impassable when the weather is bad.”
Hundreds of parents have looked to bring appeals, disputing losing their child’s school transport provision.
Of the 84 that reached the second stage of the process in the second half of 2025, just 11 were successful.
Campaigners, who put in freedom of information requests (FoIs) to other councils to compare, said this was the second lowest success rate out of the 17 they surveyed.
North Yorkshire - now on 13 per cent of successful appeals - was behind only Middlesbrough on 8 per cent.
In nearby York, 54 per cent of appeals are successful, while in Wakefield 46 per cent of parents succeed.
A new permanent corporate director of children and young people’s services, El Mayhew, is set to start this month, arriving from Hertfordshire County Council.
Campaigners are hoping she will take another look at the issues they are raising.
North Yorkshire Council’s assistant director for education and inclusion, Amanda Fielding, said: “Our home to school travel policy ensures fairness and consistency for families across the county and is in line with national legislation set out by the Government.
“Rising costs of delivering our home to school transport duties have now exceeded £52m making it one of the top three areas of the council’s spending.
“This revised policy supports longer term sustainability.
“We introduced changes to our home to school travel policy on September 1, 2024, after councillors gave their approval at a full council meeting on July 24 that year. This is not a new policy, and eligibility is calculated by distance from home to school, not ‘as the crow flies’.
“Despite the weather conditions earlier this week, services were delivered as normal by our operators, and we were able to fulfil our duties to get children to the hundreds of schools that remained open in North Yorkshire.
“Of the 51 schools that closed, 47 were on the coast where weather conditions were the most extreme.
“Parents and carers remain responsible for getting their children to school where they are not eligible for free transport. An appeals process is available for families with exceptional circumstances.”