A DECISION to axe free home to school transport for some 300 pupils in Monmouthshire will be looked at again by councillors. 

The county council’s Labour-led cabinet agreed last week to adopt the Welsh Government’s statutory distances and only provide primary pupils with a free bus pass if they live two miles or more from their nearest, or most suitable, school and three miles for secondary pupils. 

The council previously provided free transport from 1.5 and two miles but said it could no longer afford the more generous scheme. However the decision will now be examined at a special meeting of the people scrutiny committee at 9.30am on Thursday, September 19. 

Conservative councillors Lisa Dymock, Phil Murphy and Tony Kear called the decision in for review claiming a consultation over the summer holidays was insufficient. The cabinet said it couldn’t start until after the general election, and the policy must be in place by October before the academic year in 2025. The select committee can accept the decision, ask the cabinet to reconsider or refer it to the full council.

MCC said earlier this week that scrapping free school bus passes for around 300 pupils is a “tough” decision forced by funding cuts. 

Proposed changes to a home to school transport policy will mean, from September next year, primary pupils, aged from four to 11, will only be entitled to free travel if they live two miles or more from their nearest, or suitable, school and for secondary pupils it will be three or more miles. 

At present Monmouthshire County Council provides free bus passes for primary pupils who live 1.5 miles from their nearest, or suitable, school and from two miles for secondary pupils but its cabinet has agreed to switch to the Welsh Government’s statutory distances on cost grounds. 

Councillor Martyn Groucutt, the Labour cabinet member for education, said the council has faced “year on year” reductions in funding, “which will not change this financial year”, and said “tough financial decisions have to be taken.” 

He acknowledged the change will impact some 300 pupils, of the 2,800 it currently provides transport for, but changing the eligibility could be better than “further cuts to school budgets”. 

The change will save the council nearly £700,000 next year, with its forecast school transport cost for the current 2024/25 financial year being is £5,726,603 against a budget allocation of £5,125,025. It also spends a further £2.4m on transport for pupils with additional learning needs. 

Cllr Groucutt said the saving works out as reducing the expected deficit in transport costs. 

The council intends that those denied free transport will walk to school but Conservative opposition leader, Cllr Richard John, questioned the safety of that proposal. 

“Pupils in some rural communities will have to walk up to six miles along rural roads, including in the dark during winter, do you really think that is safe?” asked the councillor who represents Mitchell Troy and Trellech. 

Cllr Groucutt said the council’s road safety officer, who is independent of the children and young people’s directorate, will assess walking routes if there are concerns and free transport will be provided if they aren’t considered safe. 

Cllr John also questioned if the council had considered its recognition of a climate emergency, and the potential rise in carbon emissions from more children being driven to school, in its decision. 

Cllr Groucutt said it had been acknowledged there could be an increase in car journeys but he said the council hadn’t factored in a reduction in emissions from school buses.