Home to School Travel Assistance for pupils with Special ...

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Net Expenditure Over/(Under) spend 3,877 3,821 4,038 **3,412 962 862 793 (36) ** Includes a £300k one off contribution from DSG. 5.1.2 A range of measures were introduced to address the budgetary pressure, which are outlined in section 2 of this report. 5.1.3 The commissioning of Impower consultancy resulted in two new initiatives; Personal Transport Budgets (PTB) and Independent Travel Training (ITT). The forecast savings from the introduction of these initiatives were as follows:- PTB £ ITT £ Total Saving £ 2011/12 Forecast Saving 51 4 55 2012/13 Forecast Saving 168 141 309 2013/14 Forecast Saving 224 305 528 Total 443 450 892 5.1.4 The reduction in transport costs in 2011/12 excluding the £300k contribution from DSG was £326k. This is from a combination of the following;- Impower consultancy work on PTB and ITT - Impower Service challenge around decisions on placements - CCC Procurement work including e-tendering and single provider model with some schools - CCC Improvements in efficiencies from work with Travel Bureau and schools - CCC Closure of 2 enhance resource nurseries - CCC It has been possible to allocate some of the £326k directly to Impower initiatives or CCC initiatives as follows but some savings have been achieved through a combination of the two:- Initiative Saving £'000 Impower – Direct 35 CCC Internal - Direct 85 Combination 206 Total 326 5.1.5 The £300k DSG contribution was a one off in 2011/12. It is forecast this reduction will be offset by the increase in savings in 2012/13 which will allow spend to remain within budget in 2012/13. 5.1.6 At this time, take up of PTB's for the September 2012 academic year is not yet known but work will continue to monitor the cost of PTB's and ITT against savings to ensure they remain in line with forecast. Alongside this, work will continue to ensure that further efficiencies are achieved. 5.1.6 Finance will continue to monitor spend against the Home to School budget as part of the budgetary control process and any variances reported to CLYP Leadership Team. 6
5.2 Legal implications To include reference to specific legal powers or criteria and appropriate legislation and, if required, details of what legally needs to be achieved in order to satisfy the proposals. The Council is required in the case of an "eligible" child (which includes a child with special educational needs, a disability or mobility problems) to make free of charge suitable travel arrangements (to and from the relevant educational establishment) for the purposes of facilitating a child's attendance at school where no suitable arrangements are already provided free of charge (s508B Education Act 1996). Travel arrangements can be made by a child's parents provided that they are made voluntarily. In determining the arrangements for transport provision for "eligible children" the decision maker providers are subject to equalities legislation, specifically s149 of the Equality Act 2010 which requires that the arrangements do not discriminate against children on the basis of any "protected characteristic" (disability, age, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation) when determining the arrangements for the provisions of transport. The Council decision makers must have ongoing due regard to the 3 aims of the Equality Duty: to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act; advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it; and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it. "Due regard" requires more than an awareness of the Equality Duty. It requires rigorous analysis by the decision maker 6. Other implications Any other specific implications 6.1 How will this contribute to achievement of the Council's key objectives / corporate priorities (corporate plan/scorecard) / organisational blueprint / Local Area Agreement (or Coventry Sustainable Community Strategy)? This work contributes to the Council's key objectives in a number of ways. In particular it supports young people in becoming independent thus improving their life chances and employability. It also provides greater choice and control for parents which is in line with the Government's objectives as contained in the SEN Green Paper and Progress and Next Steps Document. Coventry is already providing parents with the offer of a personal budget which it is proposed will become a requirement from 2014. 6.2 How is risk being managed? The Independent Travel Trainers have received appropriate training. Special School staff who know their pupils well advise the City Council on which pupils are appropriate/ready for travel training and this is done in agreement with parents. Pupils are only signed off as ready to travel independently when staff are certain they are safe and have been given all appropriate strategies. The sign off journey is undertaken by a different colleague to the one who has provided the travel training. If any concerns are subsequently raised or a young person's situation changes then they can be returned to transport if required. There is a financial risk to the Council in funding personal transport budgets but not being able to reduce routes. The level of PTBs was set to take account of this and careful financial monitoring is undertaken. 7
Page 1 and 2: 5 Public report Cabinet Member 18th
Page 3 and 4: Report title: Home to School Travel
Page 5: R was taken to school by car by her
Page 9: Report author(s): Name and job titl

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