Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Hilary Hibbert - Biles and Louise Chapman.

Councillor George Reynolds – Local Member

Cllr Reynolds, local member representing his division (Wroxton and Hook Norton), expressed the view that there was a general deficit of information contained within the proposals and consultation, particularly in relation to costs to schools and to parents.  For example, an outcome of the proposals would result in some schools situated in his division becoming full quickly, given that some 1300 new homes were due to be built in his division, whilst other schools would lose pupils, leading to a loss of teaching staff. A further example he gave was that one primary school in his division would lose 2 out of 3 of their catchment villages, which could lead to the poorest of village communities being disadvantaged, particularly those without their own transport.

Councillor Anne Purse – Local Member

Councillor Purse, local member representing her division (Wheatley) expressed concern that once Wheatley Park School was full, the nearest schools were situated in the city, the travel time to which in the morning would be considerable. This would be detrimental to the children’s wellbeing. She urged Cabinet members to consider whether the savings proposed were of a practical nature before enacting them. She commented that the proposals would serve to disrupt schools and would not lead to savings.

Mrs K. Haig – Headteacher – Burford School,

Mrs Haig urged Cabinet not to agree to the proposals because a decision of this kind would adversely affect Burford School’s forward planning over the next five years. She explained that in her view effective primary/secondary partnerships were best delivered where all children from a primary school were to attend the same secondary school. If this practice were to change as a result of the proposals the outcome would be a loss to the school of up to 500 students over five years, at a cost of £201m to the school budget. The need to manage a falling budget would in turn make it more difficult to focus on better achievement, which was a part of Oxfordshire’s agenda for raising achievement.

Richard Martin – Governor and Chairman of Finance Committee – Burford School

Mr Martin urged Members of Cabinet to leave the situation as it currently was and to allow individual schools to put together something that was far better than the proposals currently on the table.  He added that schools, particularly rural schools, had developed crucial relationships with their current catchment area schools in respect of their bus transport systems. He asked  whether the County Council was running a big risk undoing so much good for so little gain, warning that savings could amount to far less than was thought.

Andrew Pitman – Chair of Governors – Burford School

Mr Pitman urged members of the Cabinet to vote against the proposals which had provoked such a large public reaction. He pointed out that Burford School was at the most disadvantage from the proposals, proposals which might not glean the savings required if parents were not to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10/14

The Council has undertaken a consultation with the public, headteachers and other interested parties upon a number of proposed changes to the Home to School Transport Policy.

The proposed changes have been made in the light of the current difficult financial situation in the UK, the continuing impact this will have on local government finances, and the need to ensure that the Home to School Transport Policy is equitable.

The report contained an analysis of the responses to the consultation.

The Cabinet was asked to consider the consultation responses and then to decide which, if any, of the proposed changes were to be implemented.

The Chairman introduced the item, thanking all the members of the public, Members and the officers who had attended the public meetings.

At its meetings on 4 July 2013, 14 November 2013 and the morning of the 4 February 2014, the Education Scrutiny Committee had considered the proposed Home to School Transport Policy. Following the original proposal, a revised proposal had been issued and considered  at the 14 November Committee. On 4 February 2014 the Committee had considered in turn each of the proposals and the likely impact on families, villages and the proposed savings.

The Chairman invited Councillor Mark Gray to the table and he presented the Scrutiny Committee’s comments in order that they could be taken into account when the Cabinet were making their decisions. These were contained in a tabled Addenda.

Jim Leivers, Roy Leach and Neil Darlington then came to the table to respond to questions. With regard to the issues relating to RAF Benson as highlighted by Councillor Atkins, Mr Leivers agreed to look at whether it would be possible to alleviate any problems service personnel were currently facing.

The Leader asked if there was any ability within the law to differentiate on discrepancies about whether a route was a safe walking route or not. Mr Darlington explained that a statutory walking route was determined on a legal basis. If the route was above the statutory distances then free school transport would be awarded.

Councillor Heathcoat asked whether savings could be made by looking at taxi budgets. Roy Leach responded that the budget amounted to £7m per annum , the majority of which was used for children with special educational needs. A dedicated programme working individually with pupils on developing their travel skills had met with a positive response. This could lead to savings although taxis were still required. The Council’s fleet of buses and their start/finish times was also being reviewed as part of the Supported Transport  Programme.

In response to a question asking if it would be possible to make £250,000 savings from the Children’s Services budget, Mr Leivers stated that there was no extra money available, difficult choices would have to be made between revisiting the  Children’s Centres budgets or the Home Care budget,

Councillor Fatemian asked if there was a procedure for parents to follow if their nearest school was oversubscribed. Mr Leach advised that although there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11/14