KCC has a duty to consider applications for transport and is required to enable access to education. In most circumstances it meets this duty through the KCC 16+ Travel Saver pass. This is a generous discretionary scheme which aids access to both education and employment with training. The card will continue to be made available at the agreed cost of £400 a year with no limit on the level of use. Learning providers, at their discretion, can subsidise this using bursary funding and we would expect bursary to be provided for up to 50% of the cost for low income families.
KCC has a duty to consult on and publish its Post 16 Transport Policy Statement each year. Whilst there is no statutory duty to provide transport for Post 16 Learners, there is a duty to consider applications for assistance with transport and to enable access to education and training to age 18. The transport policy sets out how KCC will meet this duty and what learners can expect by way of support.
Schools, colleges and learning providers have been consulted, as have their students. Neighbouring local authorities and Public Transport have also been included in the consultation, as have parents. The consultation on the proposed policy ran until the 7 April 2019.
The policy is attached as appendix 1 and a copy of the consultation document and the equalities impact assessment can be found via the following link: www.kent.gov.uk/post16transport.
Decision type: Key
Reason Key: Affects more than two Electoral Divisions;
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Division affected: (All Division);
Notice of proposed decision first published: 19/03/2019
Decision due: Not before 14th May 2019 by Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education
Reason: In order that the proposed decision can be published for a minimum of 28 days, in accordance with statutory requirements
Lead member: Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education
Lead director: Keith Abbott
Department: Education & Young People's Services
Contact: Scott Bagshaw, Head of Fair Access Tel: 03000 415798 Email: scott.bagshaw@kent.gov.uk Tel: 01622 694185.
Consultees
A consultation had taken place and closed on 7 April 2019: https://consultations.kent.gov.uk/consult.ti/Post16Transport19_20/consultationHome
The final decision was presented to the Children’s, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee on 7 May 2019.
Members were informed of the consultation via the Member bulletin and had the opportunity to submit a response.
Financial implications: The scheme is uncapped and costs will vary. We have seen an overall reduction in uptake during the course of the last year, this has had a financial implication which has meant that income levels are reduced and those using the passes are doing so extensively which is increasing the unit cost of the scheme. For the last 2 years the scheme has required the cards to be purchased on-line and some learning providers have had difficulty developing a purchasing mechanism for their bursary learners this has resulted in them buying saver cards direct from operators for some of their learners and we will continue to explore ways in which we can try to make the scheme more accessible to those establishments which wish to make bulk purchases.
Legal implications: Each year KCC has a legal duty to consult on its Policy for Post 16 Transport and publish a Post 16 Transport Policy Statement by the 31 May.
Equalities implications: Can be found via this link: https://consultations.kent.gov.uk/consult.ti/Post16Transport19_20/consultationHome