LGA responds to Local Government Ombudsman's report into school transport

20 Mar 2017 11:49 AM

Cllr Richard Watts, Chair of the LGA's Children and Young People Board, responds to the Local Government Ombudsman's report into school transport.

"Local authorities take their responsibility to provide home-to-school transport for those in need very seriously, with councils continuously looking at innovative approaches to enable them to provide a coordinated and high quality service for children and their parents.

"Councils continue to face significant funding pressures, amid further cuts to funding by central government. Local authorities are working hard to ensure suitable travel arrangements are made for children who could not reasonably be expected to walk or would otherwise find it difficult to attend school because of distance, mobility, special educational needs or the routes they have to take. However, this is becoming increasingly difficult in the face of such sustained financial challenges."

School transport policy changes causing upheaval for increasing numbers of children, according to LGO