By Don Mort, local democracy reporter
Families have urged the council to reconsider its decision to cut free school transport for teenagers with special needs.
Parents warned they faced uncertainty over how to get youngsters to school or college this September.
Last year the council announced that over 16s with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) would no longer be provided with free bus travel.
The authority decided to cut the service to save £800,000.
Campaign group Save Our School Transport raised their concerns at a Leeds City Council meeting.
Emma Daniels, representing the group, told councillors: “We stood here a year ago and raised grave concerns over the revised post-16 transport policy.
“We warned that the policy was not working for young people with SEND. Right now this policy is creating barriers. It is limiting what young people can do.”
Concerns were raised in a formal deputation to the meeting at Leeds Civic Hall.
The action group called for the post-16 transport policy to be referred to the council’s executive board for reconsideration.
The deputation said: “Please reinstate the previous policy while a full review takes place.”
The council said help with transport, including personal travel allowances, was being offered on a discretionary basis.
Youngsters were being provided with travel training to help them feel safe on public transport.
Labour’s Helen Hayden, the council’s executive member for children and families, said “travel buddies” had also been appointed.
She told the full council meeting: “In Leeds we want children with SEND to have the same opportunities as their peers. Independent travel training is a key part of that.”
Leeds City Council will now put together a formal response to the deputation.
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This was great to see, it was also good to see campaigners against Fleecehold raising the issue (which exists allover Leeds including in West Leeds).
https://www.homeownersrights.net/welcome-to-hornet/
That deserves an article too hopefully the WLD can investigate new build estates and Fleecehold, its becoming a huge issue in Leeds as more and more new builds are built.