Parents plan protest over school transport changes

Campaigners have vowed to protest outside a key council meeting examining planned changes to home-to-school transport, claiming parents had been "gagged" from speaking at the event.

North Yorkshire Council voted last year to only pay for transport to a child's nearest school, rather than using school catchment areas as had previously happened.

Members of the School Transport Action Group (Stag) said while they welcomed the extraordinary meeting next month, they were "shocked and disappointed" to hear they would not be allowed speak.

Barry Khan, the council's assistant chief executive for legal and democratic services, said extraordinary meetings did "not allow for public questions".

The council has said it hoped the policy - due to come into effect in September - would deliver savings of up to £3m a year.

The authority added that its school transport costs were significantly higher than those faced by other councils due to North Yorkshire's geography.

Parents in rural areas of the county have previously told the BBC the change could potentially put their children's safety at risk due to the state of roads to the nearest school at times of poor weather during the winter.

A spokesperson for Stag, which was formed to oppose the new policy, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Gagging the public feels totally undemocratic. It will not make for a better debate or increase the chance of a well-informed decision being made - quite the opposite.

"The whole problem with this policy is that the officers driving it and the councillors who backed it have refused to listen to the concerns of parents from the very start."

Members of the group promised to hold a protest outside the venue for the meeting, and invited "concerned members of the public" to join.

Responding, Mr Khan said: "We can reassure residents their views have been heard through consultations, petitions and at previous public meetings."

However, he added: "In line with our constitution, extraordinary meetings do not allow for public questions, but provide councillors with the opportunity to debate matters on the agenda.

"Members of the public are, as always, encouraged to contact their local councillor to share their views, which can be raised as part of the debate."

Opposition councillors had requested the extraordinary meeting, due to be held at 10:00 BST on 21 May at County Hall in Northallerton, amid concerns over the impact of the changes on families and schools.

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