Press Release on Behalf of the Rural School Transport Action Group Staffordshire

We are writing to you as a group of parents living in rural areas of Staffordshire, who have
been directly affected by the sudden decision made by Staffordshire County Council (SCC) to suspend the Vacant Seat Scheme (VSS).

Whilst as a group we accept it is necessary for there to be an eligibility criteria, it is importantthis criteria recognises the specific needs of children living in rural areas, where there is nopublic transport available to access as an alternative to the VSS. Sadly public bus subsidies have been cut by SCC in recent years and community transport in rural areas has failed to receive any investment, leaving it now non-existent. We understand that the VSS is a nonstatutory provision by Staffordshire County Council, which is why as parents we were and continue to be more than happy to pay for the service.

Our group fully agree that it is the parents’ responsibility to ensure their child attends school and it is important to make clear that an important factor in us sending our children to the schools and colleges they are at was that there was transport available, via the VSS.

A large proportion of the children who used the VSS have done so for many years, to suddenly remove this lifeline for 300+ rural families, without giving a reasonable period of notice is not fair or transparent and we feel is discriminatory, as distances of 3+ miles to walk to school through country lanes alone is not safe for a young person.

Prior to suspension, VSS had been free for 10 months, which now appears to be as a direct
result of SCC not adequately preparing for Passenger Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) introduced 21 years ago. It has become clear that PSVAR prevents the
council charging for seats on school transport, if the vehicles do not comply with the
regulations. It is clear that Staffordshire County Council failed to ensure their transport fleet is compliant, despite having many years to do this and in our opinion have let down young people by effectively making it impossible for them to access education, unless their parents work school hours.

It is interesting to read that on 6th July 2020 Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Minister for Roads, Buses and Places wrote to all Local Authorities in England, stating they must focus now how they can provide services inclusively and comply with PSVAR, rather than seeking to avoid their legal obligations, which they have had over two decades to plan for. The letter also advised that in order to enable essential Home to School services to continue operating in the immediate term the Department for Transport will consider applications for
temporary exemptions. Local Authorities were advised they could apply for these
exemptions by emailing HometoSchoolExemptions@dft.gov.uk in order to be informed when application arrangements are released. Despite Freedom of Information requests being made, Staffordshire County Council are yet to advise if this exemption was ever applied for. Web link below:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/999775/letter-from-baronesse-vere-to-trade-bodies-on-psvar-compliance.pdf

It has been suggested by a council official that by allowing families living in rural areas where there is NO PUBLIC transport to continue accessing vacant seats would not be a good use of taxpayer’s money. In response to this statement we would like to point out that whether or not our children sit on the VACANT seats, no money is being generated for the council, as PSVAR prevents this if they have failed to ensure their fleet is compliant.

In June 2020 our group were told in writing that the VSS was suspended to create more space on Home to School services for entitled pupils as part of the response to the Pandemic and the need for social distancing. As we believed this pause was only a temporary measure, due to COVID-19, many parents managed to speak with their employer and negotiate short term modifications to alter their working hours, enabling them transport their child to and from school. On 19th July 2021 an update was made by Staffordshire County Council announcing the VSS was to be suspended and parents who relied upon this service historically were told to seek alternative transport options for their children in September 2021, giving us only 6 weeks notice to find permanent alternative arrangements.

As a group we are aware that SCC have recently re-tendered home to school transport
contracts for a large number of routes and would therefore question Jonathon Price’s
suggestion that on 31st August 2021 only a fifth (22%) of their fleets are compliant and full compliance will take between three to seven years. If this is the case there are surely some questions to answer as to why SCC have continued to award transport contracts to providers whose vehicles do not comply with PSVAR. Despite Freedom of Information requests being made, Staffordshire County Council are yet to provide details of recently negotiated transport contracts and clarify whether or not the vehicles they have contracted are compliant.

In a newspaper article published on 2nd September 2021 Councillor Price was quoted as
saying “Following recent changes we are reviewing the Temporary Vacant Seat Scheme in
light of new Government guidance and will update parents shortly”. As a group we suggest
this is a misleading statement and point out that PSVAR is not a recent change or new
Government guidance. It would therefore be fair to suggest SCC have behaved negligently,
by not ensuring their transport fleet is compliant and not considering the transport needs of
those living in rural communities.

In a press release Councillor Price was also quoted as saying “It’s unfair, it’s costing
taxpayers money and it’s a mess not of our making, so we propose to stop the scheme,
as have some other counties”. In direct response our group would suggest that this
statement is also misleading and should read that, it’s unfair all transport options have
been blocked to the families struggling in rural areas, the current situation IS of the
council’s making due to their inability to ensure their contracted vehicles are compliant
and other Counties are affected however they have worked with their communities and
planned to comply with the PSVAR regulations, an example of this would be the
bordering County of Warwickshire

https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/schooltransport/paid-school-transport-vacant-seat-scheme/1

On 31st August 2021 a six-week public engagement survey regarding School Transport and
specifically the VSS was announced by SCC, unhelpfully this launched only 3 days before the start of the Autumn school term. Following the launch of this survey members of the rural parents group received a letter advising that “the council will not respond to individual emails during the engagement period in relation to the content of the survey”. Ultimately this means that the needs of 300+ children are being disregarded by SCC. As a group we have explored all alternative transport options available and have met dead ends at every turn.

Our group had a glimmer of hope when we came across the STAFFORDSHIRE VOLUNTARY
TRANSPORT SCHEME operated by a CHARITY called COMMUNITY LINK STAFFORD.

This charity are advertised on the Staffordshire County Council Website

https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Transport/buses/Call-and-Book-Services/Communityservices/Community-and-voluntary-schemes/Stafford.aspx

In the membership criteria for the COMMUNITY LINK VOLUNTARY TRANSPORT SCHEME
a charity whose objectives are:-

TO PROVIDE A COMMUNITY TRANSPORT SERVICE FOR SUCH OF THE INHABITANTS
WHO ARE IN NEED OF SUCH A SERVICE BECAUSE OF AGE, SICKNESS OR DISABILITY
(MENTAL OR PHYSICAL), OR POVERTY, OR BECAUSE OF A LACK OF AVAILABILITY
OF ADEQUATE AND SAFE PUBLIC PASSENGER SERVICES.

As a group we believed we would be eligible to pay for this transport scheme “BECAUSE OF
A LACK OF AVAILABILITY OF ADEQUATE AND SAFE PUBLIC PASSENGER
SERVICES”. Members of our group therefore made an applications for membership to the
charitable scheme, these were unfortunately declined due to the charities minibuses
already being in use providing CONTRACTED SCHOOL TRANSPORT for STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL. This we feel is another example of Staffordshire County Council blocking parents living in rural areas of Staffordshire from accessing transport to ensure our children can attend school by contracting charitable community services.

Our group have recently progressed complaints regarding suspension of the VSS to the
Ombudsman, as SCC refused to consider it or engage in sensible discussion with us.
Unfortunately it is likely to take a further 6 weeks to be investigated, the delay being due to Staffordshire County Council’s reluctance to acknowledge our stage 1 complaints within the statutory timescales. Sadly due to there being no public transport options it is likely that a number of children 11-18 years old living in rural areas will periodically not be in education, as a direct result of sudden suspension of the VSS.

Some parents are planning to give up work to bridge the gap, which will obviously have a
financial impact on already struggling families. As a group we are also concerned about the
emotional effect it will have on our children who will no longer be able to travel to and from
school with their peers and on occasions may ultimately miss out on attending school. We feel that our children have, through no fault of their own, missed enough of their education over the last year and a half and we do not feel they should be disadvantaged further.

In addition to the logistical difficulties suspending the scheme will cause, it is important to also recognise the effects on the environment. We have read with interest about Staffordshire County Council’s mission to Make Staffordshire More Sustainable by encouraging residents in the County to do their bit to make Staffordshire greener and reduce our impact on the environment. Staffordshire County Council suggest we should be doing this by thinking differently about how we live our everyday lives and make Staffordshire a more environmentally friendly County. Reinstating the VSS would have a direct impact on reducing carbon emissions, as up to 300+ additional vehicles could be on the roads to drop off and pick up their children each day. In addition half empty school buses will continue to provide a service for statutory entitled pupils using the same routes.

Pausing of the vacant seat scheme in rural parts of Staffordshire where there are no alternative public transport options is not in keeping with Staffordshire County Council’s commitment to improve sustainable transport. It will not support to remove congestion around schools and nor it will not help reach net zero carbon emissions from transport by 2050, which I believe the council have committed to achieve.

Below are five real life example of how the suspension of the VSS is affecting young children and their families living in rural areas of Staffordshire:

1. Parents will be driving their son who has used the VSS for 3 years (not entitled to statutory school transport) to and from school, following the bus their daughter (entitled to statutory school transport) is on, dropping their son off at the same school as his sister and picking him up to take him to the same home as his sister. The school is 3.1 miles away via narrow country lanes.

2. A 16 year old child who was previously deemed as entitled to statutory school transport
to Alleyne’s Academy in Stone is no longer able to travel on an empty school bus seat. Despite it being compulsory for all children to be in full time education until the age of 18 years old, Staffordshire County Council no longer deem this child to be entitled to statutory school transport to Alleyne’s 6th form college, as she is over 16 years of age. The school is 4.8 miles away via narrow country lanes and a dual carriageway. Link to SCC policy regarding this below:-
https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Education/Schooltransport/Post16/Home.aspx

3. Both parents work as Nurse’s at the hospital, they do not work 9-5, they work variable shifts covering a 24 hour period and have always used and been willing to pay for the VSS to enable their child to get to and from school. They live over 3 miles away from the school in a rural area where there is no public transport. On days when both parents are on an early shift they will have no choice but to drop their child off at school at 7.00am (school opens to students at 8.00am) and when both parents are working a late shift the child will not be able to attend school, as there would be no way of them getting home.

4. Parents of a child whose daughter has an EHCP and is not able to participate in activities
that her peers might i.e. using public buses and travelling independently of a trusted adult is no longer able to access the scheme. Both parents work at the same school and fortunately have a supportive head teacher otherwise the suspension of the VSS would mean one of them would have to stop working all together. Due to their child’s additional needs they chose the most suitable school for her as they have a “nurture” unit. The parents are willing to pay for VSS to get her to this most suitable school. The school they chose is only 1.8 miles further away than their catchment school, to which they would be eligible for statutory transport.

5. This child has mild learning difficulties and has used the VSS for 3 years. She has gained
in confidence and developed friendships on the school bus each day, something she had
historically struggled to do. This child is now unable to travel on a vacant seat and her parent is having difficulty explaining this change to her. She will now be transported to school by her parents, as there are no public buses in the rural area, ultimately meaning she will lose her independence and be isolated from friends in her year group.

The above examples are only a small selection of how the sudden removal of the scheme is
affecting children and their families. Whilst as a group we do acknowledge that SCC do not
have a statutory responsibility to transport our children to school, they do have a responsibility to ensure fair use of charitable services and community transport, fair access to education for all children up to the age of 18 and to not discriminate against those living in rural areas.

Tony Walley
Tony Walley
News & Sport Editor

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