School transport debate: Warning over 'tax' on Yorkshire's rural education

Among those to challenge the impact were former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith, calling on Labour to better support rural areas.

North Yorkshire Council (NYC), bringing in policy changes last year, has long argued it must cut back on costs, and with new rules only putting it in line with other parts of the country.

But in a blistering speech before MPs, Mr Gordon argued it undermined rural communities, "stripping" transport from schools.

He warned: "The costs have not disappeared. They have simply been transferred, from the council onto rural families who can least afford them."

He added: "There should not be a rural tax on education."

School transport costs have risen 70 per cent to £2.6bn since 2015, committees found, driven largely by a £2bn bill for children with special educational needs (SEND).

Among authorities with the highest annual spend is NYC, at £52m. New policies, set to save around £3m a year, offer free bus access only to pupils who attend their nearest school - regardless of the council's own historic catchment areas or existing entry policies.

It is understood that more than 1,000 families have been affected, with more than 200 appeals and 20 ombudsman cases in 2025 alone.

Mr Gordon, speaking before Parliament, claimed some children had been told to use a ford crossing as a safe walking route, accessible only to tractors. He spoke of families driving in convoy behind the school bus, and a mother paying £94 a month for a bus permit. Ultimately, he aded, the impact was on rural communities.

One in four small primaries stands to lose pupils because of this policy, Mr Gordon claimed, with small secondaries in Settle, Whitby and Boroughbridge facing "existential threat".

"When we hollow out the transport routes that sustain these schools, we do not just inconvenience families," he said. "We undermine the schools themselves, and with them the rural communities they serve."

His concerns were echoed by Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith, who spoke of children being bussed out to Lancashire.

Rural communities are already facing a barrage of challenges, he warned, with NYC "forced" to move to this decision as it tried to balance the needs of all taxpayers.

"Labour is hitting rural areas incredibly hard," he argued.

Mr Gordon, praising the School Transport Action Group (STAG), called for catchment schools to be included in policies, and warned there was a "blind spot" on data. He also called on the Government to expand its transport policies more widely, arguing it was designed for a different era and with SEND children facing a "cliff-edge" at age 16.

His calls for a reinstatement of the Rural Services Delivery Grant were backed by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, representing Richmond and Northallerton as MP.

Families in the Yorkshire Dales and Swaledale were "acutely" impacted, said Mr Sunak, with children being sent as far as Barnard Castle or on "impassable" wintry roads. He said: "I urge the council, who do have to make some difficult decisions, to think about the particular geography of Swaledale and the impact of weather on these roads.”