Transport

Transport for children and young people with SEN is unfortunately an unnecessarily complex area of law, which is governed by an array of legislation and guidance. The law is also different depending on the age of the child or young person.

 

The complexities often lead to disputes when parents make a request to their local authority for transport to be provided, particularly around 'eligibility' and the 'suitability' of arrangements made. This can leave children and young people with educational placements to attend but no suitable way of getting there.

 

We advise and assist on transport disputes for all ages, including eligibility and the suitability of the arrangements put in place. We can also advise on whether children/young people meet the eligibility criteria and whether the transport arrangements are likely to be deemed suitable or not.

 

The Eligibility Criteria is set out below:

 

Children and young people of statutory school age (5 to 16):

For children of statutory school age, the law is clear; local authorities have a legal duty to provide free transport for eligible children from home to school.

To be eligible, the child/young person must be attending the nearest suitable school (this will be the school named in Section I of an EHCP if a plan is in place) and live over the statutory walking distance from the school (2 miles for 5 to 8 years old and 3 miles for 8 years old to 16). However, if the child/young person lives within the statutory walking distance but cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school due to their SEN or disabilities, they will also be eligible.

 

Young People aged 16 to 19:

The situation changes significantly for this age group, compared to the above. For young people with SEN and disabilities in this age group, local authorities are under a duty to provide a 'Transport Policy Statement' specifying the arrangements necessary to facilitate attendance at the young person’s place of learning. It is a matter for the local authority to decide what is necessary, but in reaching a decision, they must exercise the judgement judiciously and in good faith. Each local authority’s transport policy will differ slightly and it is important you read your own local authority's policy carefully. In some instances, young people with SEN and disabilities will be entitled to transport to and from their place of learning under the policies.

Local authorities can also request a reasonable contribution to the costs of transport for this age group and the contributions must be set out within their policy.

 

Young People Aged 19 to 25:

Similar to the criteria above, local authorities have a duty to make arrangements for the provision of transport, as they consider necessary to facilitate the attendance of young adults with SEN and disabilities to their place of learning. The criteria to be applied when determining this will also be set out within the local authority’s transport policy.

 

Suitability of arrangements:

For all of the different age groups when transport is required, the transport provided must be suitable. Suitability will depend on the individual child/young person and the proposed transport to be provided. The general position is that arrangements must enable the child or young person to reach their educational placement without undue stress, strain or difficulty which would prevent them from benefiting from the education on offer.

 

Common disputes often arise between the nature of the route of transport due to the length of time of the journey and the method of transport.

 

Challenging a refusal of transport or transport arrangements:

If your local authority has refused to provide transport or the arrangements provided are not suitable, there are various options available to challenge this.

 

Each Local Authority must have their own transport appeal process that can be used to challenge decisions and this applies for all age groups; we can represent you in such an appeal. If an appeal is not successful this can be escalated to the Local Government Ombudsman.

 

Further, judicial review against the transport appeal decision is also possible. It is also possible to consider judicial review prior to lodging a transport appeal when circumstances are clearly unlawful and/or extremely urgent. In such circumstances, we have found formal pre-action correspondence has resolved matters swiftly. We can assist with any possible judicial review claim on transport and have successfully done so on many occasions.

 

If you have any concerns about how your Local Authority has dealt with your transport application or whether you should make an application for transport, please contact us on 01284 723952 or 01223 650857, to speak to one of our friendly team.