School transport: Councillors to vote on potential u-turn on controversial policy

The controversial policy to change transport eligibility was introduced last year in a bid to slash millions from the local authority budget.

Under the previous policy, pupils over eight who lived more than three miles away from their catchment school were offered council-run transport, but that changed to only offering transport to the nearest school - even if that wasn’t the catchment area school.

Campaigners claim the council's determination to push ahead with the changes is about "saving face rather than saving money" - and have said it could penalise pupils in rural areas who face journeys over unsuitable roads in poor weather conditions under the new policy.

But North Yorkshire Council bosses say reinstating the old policy would force the authority to use more money from its reserves to balance the books.

Council leaders also claim a return to using 'catchment' to decide school transport eligibility, rather than the new 'nearest school' system, would reintroduce inequalities.

The School Transport Action Group (STAG) campaign group was formed by parents to oppose the new system.

The group claims that in private, most councillors accept that the new policy would not deliver the savings of up to £4.2m a year forecast by the council.

A STAG spokesperson added: "It has been acknowledged that if every pupil took up the offer of free transport to their nearest school, it would cost more to deliver than if the catchment option was included, yet in public too many are unwilling to admit they’ve got this wrong.

“For those leading North Yorkshire Council, this has now become more about saving face than saving money.”

Councillors will vote on a motion to return to the catchment system at an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday.

The meeting has been called by opposition leaders following concerns raised by parents over the policy change.

The STAG spokesperson said of the vote: “It’s going to be close.

“Over 500 people who have come from all corners - Settle, Whitby, everywhere, doing it for their kids.

“We’ve had Conservative councillors stand in front of us and say they know they won’t make savings.

“It’s going to come down to a small handful of people - whether we’ve got enough brave Conservative councillors to stand up.”

Conservative Council leader Carl Les said he did not want to comment on the "misinformation or spin" in the STAG statement.

He said it was a "very difficult decision" to change the policy, which was made in July last year, which was taken "in the face of having to make savings across all budgets in the council, to fall into line with the vast majority of our neighbouring authorities, and most throughout the country, in removing the discretionary element of home-to-school transport and only fulfilling our statutory duty for paying for transport to the nearest school".

It comes as council documents showed over 300 schoolchildren in North Yorkshire will not receive free school transport to their new high school in September despite it being their catchment school.

A document released by the council to persuade councillors to vote against the u-turn read: “Following the National Offer Days, eligibility checks for travel assistance are underway. Whilst incomplete at the point this report was written, the emerging picture for secondary admissions at the end of April 2025 showed approximately 1,200 secondary children are not eligible as they have preferenced and been allocated a school that is not their nearest school with places – equating to approx. 20 per cent.

“Initial analysis indicates approximately 330 children in this group have preferenced and been allocated a catchment school (but this is not their nearest with places).”

Council officers held a seminar for all councillors on the policy change this week ahead of the vote.

A report prepared ahead of the meeting states that approving the motion would "reintroduce inequalities that were removed in the 2024 policy change" and "remove the savings potential arising from the 2024 policy and increase the need for use of reserves".

The policy change has the support of the leadership of the Conservative and Independent group, which holds a slim majority on the council, although several Tory councillors have spoken out against the change.

Opposition to the policy has been led by Liberal Democrats and Green Party councillors, with the independents councillors and Labour also supporting the need for the vote. It is understood both sides have been lobbying other councillors to support their stance ahead of the vote.

Campaigners are planning a protest against the changes ahead of the meeting at County Hall in Northallerton.

A live feed will be in place to allow members of the public to watch the debate if they cannot fit into the public gallery.