Lancashire County Councils Conservative administration have completely ignored the results of their own consultation and decided to cease funding for bus services that do not carry school pupils statutorily entitled to transport assistance to school. The bus services respondents most commonly will be the 623 service, 876, 860, 889 and 775 services.
About nine tenths (88%) of the respondents said that they disagreed with the proposal to remove the funding for school transport services and about a tenth of respondents (9%) said they agreed with the proposal. Head teachers were asked how strongly they agreed or disagreed with the proposal. Six head teachers agreed with the proposal, four disagreed and two neither agreed nor disagreed.
When asked how strongly they agreed or disagreed with the proposal to remove the funding for school transport services, three bus operators responded that they disagreed with the proposal and one said that it neither agreed nor disagreed with the proposal.
Letters were received from Nigel Evans MP and Kate Hollern MP, on behalf of parents, who were concerned that if the 623 bus service was withdrawn, their children would have to switch schools.
The Conservative Administration saving agreed totalled £100,000, with £50,000 removed from the budget in 2020/21 and £50,000 in 2021/22.
In complete contrast at the same meeting Lancashire’s Conservative Administration agreed two year recurrent funding of £190,000 in the museums service budget from 2020/21, from reserves to cover an in-year pressure in 2019/20.
Also they approved the use of one-off funding from reserves of £433,000 in 2019/20 and £433,000 in 2020/21 (£866,000 in total) whilst the long term future of Queen Street Mill Museum and Helmshore Mills Textile Museum is considered.
Cllr John Fillis, Labour Deputy Leader, said “This increase in funding for museums would of seen the bus services for these school children continue for at least a further two years if not longer. It also adds to the sustainability of these bus services.”
“This Conservative Administration clearly thinks more about the past, than the future of our children. The past is important, but it’s more important that our children make their own history.”
“They have once again completely ignored their own consultation undermining the reputation of Lancashire as a democratic institution. They have turned their backs on the schools, MP’s, local communities and hordes of all the school children.”
