Issue - meetings
Home to School Transport - Review of Temporary Vacant Seat Scheme
Meeting: 15/12/2021 - Cabinet (Item 89)
89 Home to School Transport - Review of Temporary Vacant Seat Scheme 
PDF 290 KB
Cabinet Member for Education (and SEND)
Additional documents:
- Appendix 1 - Executive Summary - Temporary Vacant Seat Survey, item 89
PDF 132 KB
- Appendix 2 - Detailed Report - Temporary Vacant Seat Survey, item 89
PDF 821 KB
- Appendix 3 - Summary of Respondents Proposed Solutions and comments, item 89
PDF 93 KB
- Appendix 4 - Map of Bus Routes and Respondents postcodes, item 89
PDF 4 MB
- Summary CIA for Home to School Transport - Review of Temporary Vacant Seat Scheme, item 89
PDF 282 KB
- Webcast for Home to School Transport - Review of Temporary Vacant Seat Scheme
Minutes:
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“Earlier this year we said that updated Government legislation had left the Council with a non-statutory service that could not be applied fairly and evenly across the county and placed a burden on taxpayers. We said then that we would not reinstate the suspended Temporary Vacant Seat Scheme unless a reasonable and workable solution could be found. Having undertaken a six-week listening exercise, to which less than one per cent of the school population responded, no such solution has been found and the service will not be reinstated”.
Jonathan Price, Cabinet Member for Education (and SEND) |
Reasons for the Decision – To consider the outcome of the Home to School Temporary Vacant Seat Scheme listening exercise together with the recommendation that the Scheme should not be reinstated as no legal and fair solution that benefits all has been presented.
Decision – (a) That the outcome of the temporary vacant seat scheme listening exercise carried out between 31 August 2021 and 12 October 2021, be noted.
(b) That the recommendation for the future of the temporary vacant seat scheme and mitigating factors be noted.
(c) That the home to school temporary vacant seat scheme be terminated.
(d) That the Cabinet Agree to review and consider reinstating the temporary vacant seat scheme once the availability of coaches that meet the requirements of the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) significantly improves in the Staffordshire.
(e) That the Council’s Transport Operations and Future Connectivity Team be asked to work with bus operators to see if existing bus routes can be extended/altered so as to provide travel opportunities for some pupils impacted by the PSVAR legislation.