By Harry Ward
A Horsforth parent has criticised Leeds City Council’s proposed changes to special needs school transport, warning they will push families into crisis.
Jill Williamson, whose son Adam is preparing to move into post-16 education, joined a protest outside Leeds Civic Hall on Wednesday (9 July).
Adam, who has Down Syndrome, associated learning difficulties and a heart condition, currently travels to school on council-arranged transport.
When asked if she regarded her son as having complex needs, she said: “Very complex needs, yes. He can just about tell you his name, but not where he lives. He cannot read a timetable and has no way of making himself understood by other people.”
Adam is due to move from the Milestone site at West SILC in Stanningley to Powerhouse in Farsley this September. Jill said council transport gives him a sense of independence and routine, and that losing it would threaten both his safety and development.
When asked what the council had offered her family under the new arrangements, she said: “Nothing, nothing. It’s under the three-mile threshold to qualify.”
She said the council had suggested Adam could walk the 2.9-mile route to his new provision — a journey that would take him along a busy main road and beside a canal.
“You’re casting them aside and denying them that right to education up to 18,” she added. “Some parents will have to change their working hours or go on benefits, so they’re still taking from the council either way.”
The changes mean that from September 2025, most 16–19-year-olds with SEND will no longer automatically receive council transport. Instead, eligible families may be offered a personal travel allowance of up to £3,000, or support with public transport and travel training.
The council says this could save around £800,000 by 2026–27, as part of wider efforts to reduce the SEND transport budget by £4.5 million. It has promised discretionary support will remain in “exceptional circumstances”, which will be determined via an appeals process that is already under strain.
One parent, who asked not to be named, told West Leeds Dispatch that a specialist taxi with a trained escort for her child would cost more than £25,000 per year, significantly higher than the travel allowances being offered.
Cllr Kevin Ritchie (Lab, Bramley and Stanningley), who served as the council’s disability champion for seven years, said the deputation by the transport campaigners at Wednesday’s meeting had been “powerful and moving”.
He said it had highlighted both the impact on families and concerns about how the new scheme would work in practice.
“I’m really pleased the council will commit to reviewing the policy,” he said. “It’s crucial that we continue to work with parents and carers. Dialogue and understanding is what’s needed to make any alternative work.”
MP for Leeds South West and Morley, Mark Sewards, has raised concerns over the cutting of SEND transport policies in councils across the country.
Speaking at a recent meeting of the Education Select Committee, he asked whether the government would consider making the transport provision compulsory up to age 19.
The Minister for Skills, The Rt Hon Baroness Smith said the government would “not commit to that at the moment”.
The council’s plans have now been referred to the Director for Children and Families, with a review expected to begin at the next Children and Families Scrutiny Board.
