Axe to fall on free Hull school transport

The plan, agreed by Hull Council’s Cabinet yesterday, will save the cash-strapped authority £366,000 a year, but teachers have warned it will cause financial hardship to already-struggling families.

Around 900 other pupils who qualify on statutory grounds will remain exempt. The charges will be introduced in September.

Coun Rosie Nicola said the policy hadn’t been reviewed in 17 years.

She said: “The decision made today has been a hard one in hard times. We have had to balance the provision of free transport to school with the economic climate and the cuts to council funding being imposed upon us by central government.”