Students' travel costs out of the county will be paid

A U-turn on not paying the travel expenses of local students who are educated outside Powys has received mixed frustration.

Many Newtown students aged between 16 and 19-years of age travel to colleges and sixth forms outside Powys, such as Shrewsbury Sixth Form College. Up until now their transport has been paid by Powys County Council.

Plans not to pay the costs were reversed at a meeting of the council yesterday.

The council spends £10 million on school transport.

Following a consultation, the council said last week it planned to reverse the decision and it would instead pay the travel costs. Yesterday, the decision was taken to continue the payments

In the impact assessment of the consultation responses, senior manager for corporate fleet & transport, John Forsey, said: “It is advised that the proposal to remove the practice of reimbursing 16-19 aged learners who travel out of county to study is not taken forward at this time.

“Responses to the consultation indicated that there would be negative impact on learners if this was implemented due to the perception that the current provision of post-16 provision in Powys is sub-standard.”

The consultation took place from June 15 to July 27.

In total an online questionnaire received 333 responses.

A  further 10 written responses were submitted.

On stopping the payment for  16 to 19 year old students travelling out of Powys, 61.8 per cent of people disagreed or strongly disagreed, with the suggestion.

Only 30.6 per cent agreed or strongly agreed to stopping the payment.

Comments left by people included: “Choices about education are extremely limited within the county.”

They also said: “If you wish 16-19 year olds to study in Powys you should provide a full range of subjects for them, without them having to spend half a day on the road travelling between sixth form facilities.”

On the question – overall, to what extent do you agree that the new draft home to school transport policy is appropriate?

57 per cent either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the changes while only 29.7 per cent agreed or strongly agreed to it.

In recent years Powys has suffered a brain drain, with an estimated 500 students aged 16 – 19 leaving Powys to continue their education outside the county, many going to Shrewsbury or Hereford colleges in England.

This has seen the authority lose £1.4 million in Welsh Government funding for sixth formers.

Funding from 2013/2014 was over £6.5 million and this has dropped to £4.4 million in 2018/19.

To combat this a re-jig of sixth forms in Powys is expected to take place by 2030.

If the draft policy is approved by the Independent/Conservative Cabinet later this month, it will come into force at the start of the next school year. in September 2021.

At the Learning and Skills scrutiny committee yesterday members looked the draft policy following the consultation.

Cllr Sandra Davies, said: “I find the u-turn really disappointing.”

She pointed out that the authority do not actually need to reimburse 16 – 19 year old travel expenses.

Cllr Davies, said “What we are actually doing is using money that is coming in from Welsh Government to bus young people out of county and even out of Wales in to England.

“Where is the Powys pound on this?

“We are spending £75,000 on individuals we don’t have any need to.”

Finance and transport portfolio holder, Cllr Aled Davies replied, Cllr Aled Davies: “It has always been part of the transport policy to do so.

“Possibly, when we have a better (educational) offer we may be able to make that saving.”

He pointed at the schools transformation that is set to happen during the next decade which includes re-jigging sixth forms in the county.

“Hopefully there will be no need to travel outside of Powys in the future,” said Cllr Davies.

But Cllr Sandra Davies believed that the policy makers should not have been swayed by such a small number of people.

She said: “333 individuals responded to the consultation, that’s really a drop in the ocean when you consider how many people are in Powys and could have responded.

“And it was about 60 per cent of those who were against it.

“I don’t think that’s very valid when it comes to us as custodians of the Powys purse.

“We’re not taking decisions and sticking to them, I’m really annoyed.”

Cllr Aled Davies, said: “The purpose of the consultation is to go out and engage and listen.

“We take on board the views, there are some for and against, and the cabinet will have to balance those views of what the policy will be.”

“We will never please everybody.”

Head of transformation and communications, Emma Palmer, told members that there may be a need to look at the transport policy every year as the school transformation programme ramps up.

It is expected that cabinet will make a decision at a meeting later this month, and the new policy will come into force in September 2021.

 

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service