Proposed changes to the way Derby City Council provides discretionary home to school travel assistance for eligible sixth form learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are to be considered by Cabinet members.
A public consultation has been carried out on a proposal to issue eligible sixth form learners with a Personal Travel Budget (PTB), rather than offer Council-arranged taxis and minibuses or fuel reimbursements.
A PTB is a yearly sum paid by the Council for travel expenses to school or college, which would allow families the freedom to make the travel arrangements that best suit their individual circumstances.
The payments would run alongside a new and enriched Independent Travel Training (ITT) service. This free service would be tailored to young people’s needs to provide a set of essential skills to allow them to travel independently with confidence, by public transport, on foot or by bike.
Like most councils, Derby City Council is currently experiencing significant financial challenges and demand and costs for home to school travel assistance are forecast to increase over the next few years. While the Council remains totally committed to providing discretionary travel assistance for eligible sixth form learners, it also recognises there are opportunities to offer discretionary travel assistance in different ways to enable young people to become confident independent travellers and achieve their full potential.
A wide-ranging, 11-week public consultation was launched by the Council in September, in partnership with the Local Area SEND Delivery and Co-production Group. Care was taken to ensure the consultation was accessible for people with disabilities to attend, participate and contribute.
Feedback received from young people who considered themselves to have SEND showed most were in favour of the introduction of PTBs and ITT. Many felt the proposal would support them to access education, services and social activities independently.
However, the Council recognises there may be some learners for whom a PTB or ITT may not be appropriate. In exceptional circumstances, for example where a learner has complex medical needs that requires specialised travel assistance, the Council would consider making the direct provision of transport. This would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The proposal will be discussed by Derby City Council’s Cabinet at a meeting on 15 February. If approved, the changes would apply from September 2023. The change would bring Derby in line with other local authority areas where PTBs have already been introduced.