Item 05 - Response on Statutory Consultation to discontinue arrangements for the provision of transport for pupils attending catchment schools

West Dunbartonshire Council · 7 July 2023
Back to Educational Services Committee — 7 July 2023 and its agenda

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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL
Report by Chief Education Officer 
Educational Services Committee – 7 July 2023
Subject: Response on Statutory Consultation to discontinue arrangements for
the provision of transport for pupils attending catchment schools
1. Purpose
1.1 The purpose of the report is to inform the Educational Services Committee of
the outcome from the statutory consultation under the terms of the Schools
(Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 on the proposal to discontinue
arrangements for the provision of transport for pupils attending catchment
schools.
2. Recommendation
2.1 It is recommended that the Committee:
(i) Notes the findings from the statutory consultation exercise and the
content of the associated Education Scotland report;
(ii) Agrees to keep the existing home to school distance of 1 mile for
primary schools and 2 miles for secondary schools as prescribed in the
existing school transport policy; and
(iii) Agrees to implement an alternative transport related saving
maximizing the use of the Under 22 Travel Pass scheme, in place of
Council provided travel passes.
3. Background
3.1 At the meeting on 8 March 2023, the Educational Services Committee
approved the launch of the statutory consultation document by the Chief
Education Officer under the terms of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland)
Act 2010 on the proposal to discontinue arrangements for the provision of
transport for pupils attending catchment schools.
3.2 Committee further agreed that a report outlining the results of the
consultation and making appropriate recommendations be presented to a
meeting of the Educational Services Committee provisionally scheduled to
be held on Wednesday 5th July 2023, subsequently confirmed as Friday 7th
July 2023.
3.3 The consultation has been undertaken in accordance with the Schools
(Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 and copies of the proposal document were
made available to all stakeholders as prescribed by the Act.  The consultation
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ran from Thursday 9th March 2023 until Tuesday 9th May 2023, a total of 31
days when the schools were open for pupils.
4. Consultation Process / Considerations
4.1 The statutory consultation process was undertaken with a Proposal Paper
setting out the proposal on which the Council was consulting being published
on the Council’s website and stakeholders invited to participate in the
consultation exercise. An electronic link to the consultation page and
Proposal Paper, was issued by email to the consultees listed within the
document and was also published on the Council’s website and publicised
via the Council’s social media channels.
4.2 As part of the Council’s consultation process we undertook the following
activities:
• Publicising the consultation and dates of public meetings through the
Council’s website, through public notices in local newspapers and on
social media.
• Advising relevant stakeholders by email of the consultation and providing
an electronic link to the website.
• Holding a series of online and in-person public consultation meetings,
one in each of the three main population centres of Dumbarton,
Clydebank and the Vale of Leven.
• Utilising the Council’s consultation web page to make documentation on
the proposal, link to the online survey, background information and
details on how to participate in the survey available.
• Setting up a direct telephone line and email address to deal with queries.
4.3 Three public consultations meetings were held between 18 and 25 April
2023 to allow Officers to explain the proposal and enable interested parties
to make comment and ask questions regarding the proposal.
4.4 A total of 48 members of the public attended the public meetings in-person,
with a further 8 member of the public attending online. A representative from
Education Scotland was also in attendance at the Dumbarton meeting, as
part of their role in the statutory consultation process.  Minutes were taken at
all three meetings (Appendix 1, 2 and 3).  
4.5 An online survey was available during the consultation period, with 542
respondents registering.  In answer to the question “Do you agree that West
Dunbartonshire Council should bring transport provision for schools more in
line with the safe walking distance to school?”  347 (64%) stated ‘yes’, and
195 (36%) stated ‘no’. It should be noted however that this response did not
correspond with the comments received during the consultation. Comments
received in the online survey, by email and during the public meetings were
overwhelmingly against the proposed change. A total of 230 respondents
chose to provide a reason for their answer in the online survey. On closer
inspection, responses stating ‘yes’ did not reconcile with the comments

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offered. When viewing only the 230 responses who also commented, 26
were in favour (11.4%), with 203 (88.6%) being against the proposal. (one
comment was excluded, as the response was not a word).     
4.6 The main issues raised by participants in the consultation have been
grouped into headings below and the education response to the points
raised are detailed within the Consultation Report. 
• Safety
• Impact on attendance
• Time taken to walk to school
• Weather 
• Households with children attending different establishments
• Contracts for school transport
• Accessibility of consultation
• Identification and realization of benefits
• Provision of public transport
• Promise of provision of transport at the time of OLSP relocation 
• Equity of provision 
• Impact on denominational schools 
4.7 15 responses were received by email, and one response was made by
phone. Responses were also received from The Archdiocese of Glasgow of
the Roman Catholic Church, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) and
First Bus. None of these responses supported the proposal. 
Education Scotland Report and Considerations 
4.8 The Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 requires HM Inspectors
from Education Scotland to be involved in the formal consultation proposal. 
The full report from Education Scotland (Appendix 6 of the Consultation
Report) was published on their website and also published as part of the
Consultation Report. 
4.9 As part of this process HM Inspectors undertook the following activities in
considering the educational aspect of the proposal: 
• attendance at a public meeting held on 18 April 2023 in connection with
the Council’s proposals; 
• consideration of all relevant documentation provided by the Council in
relation to the proposal, specifically the educational benefits statement
and related consultation documents, written and oral submissions from
parents and others; 
• consideration of further representations made directly to Education
Scotland on relevant educational aspects of the proposal; 
• visits to St Eunan’s Primary School, Knoxland Primary School,
Clydebank High School, St Peter the Apostle High School, Dumbarton
Academy, Vale of Leven Academy and Our lady and St Patrick’s High
School, including discussion with relevant consultees and;

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• discussion with relevant consultees, including representatives from the
Archdiocese of Glasgow.
Education Scotland Summary and Recommendations
4.10 Education Scotland produced a report whose purpose is to provide an
independent and impartial consideration of West Dunbartonshire Council’s
proposal to alter arrangements for the provision of transport by West
Dunbartonshire Council for pupils attending mainstream schools. 
4.11 Within the report, Education Scotland concluded:
“In their proposal, West Dunbartonshire Council state that there will be
educational benefits gained through active travel. HM Inspectors agree that
the proposal is in line with national guidance and statutory walking distances.
HM Inspectors agree that there are potential benefits through active travel.
However, HM Inspectors do not agree that the Council have set out
sufficiently the potential educational benefits to address concerns raised by
stakeholders. Almost all stakeholders raised significant concerns. These
include the safety of children and young people while walking to and from
school, and the reliability, availability and capacity of public transport to meet
increased demand. Most stakeholders also have a concern that the
proposal, if implemented, would incur financial costs for families already
facing significant financial hardship. Stakeholders are also concerned about
the potential for lower attendance which will impact on attainment and
achievement. Should this proposal be agreed, it will be important for the
Council to work with stakeholders to address their concerns. 
The online survey main question may have been misunderstood by
respondents and therefore the outcome may not be accurate. The survey
responses do not fully reflect the comments or the issues raised by
stakeholders who met with HM Inspectors. The Council will need to consider
if this data should be used to inform the final decision.”
Next Steps
4.12 Response to the consultation was overwhelmingly negative, with
stakeholders raising significant concerns. As the grounds for the proposal
were based on a saving to the Council, a reasonable alternative would be
to maintain the existing home to school distance, but remove the provision
of bus passes by the Council for use on public service buses, requiring
children and young people who use public service buses to make use of
their Under 22 travel pass instead. In the exceptional circumstance where a
child or young person is unable to obtain or utilise an Under 22 Travel
Pass, the Council would ensure the young person was provided with
suitable support. This change would have no direct impact on stakeholders,
and save the Council in the region of £185,000 per annum. This would be
£15,000 short of the projected saving for 2023/24, and £115,000 short of
the projected saving for 2024/25.

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Consultation Report 
4.13 The Council is required to prepare and publish its final Consultation Report
when the consultation exercise has been concluded.  In preparing the report,
the Council must consider the report from Education Scotland and other
responses to the consultation.  The consultation report must explain how the
Council has reviewed the proposal, a summary of the points raised during
the consultation and the Council’s response to them. It should consider if
there are any other reasonable alternatives to the proposal.   
4.14 The Council is required to publish the Consultation Report and Educational
Services Committee cannot take a decision on whether to formally
implement a proposal until 3 weeks have elapsed from the date it publishes
the Consultation Report.  The Consultation Report was published on the
website on Friday 16 June 2023. 
5. People Implications 
5.1 There are no people implications within this report. 
6. Financial and Procurement Implications 
6.1 Not implementing the proposal would see the Council fail to make an
identified saving of £200,000 in 2023/24, and £300,000 in 2024/25. The
alternative suggested in 4.12 above would realize an annual saving of
£185,000 from 2023/24. This would be £15,000 short of the projected saving
for 2023/24, and £115,000 short of the projected saving for 2024/25. 
7. Risk Analysis 
7.1 HM Inspectors agree that the proposal is in line with national guidance and
statutory walking distances. HM Inspectors agree that there are potential
benefits through active travel. However, HM Inspectors do not agree that the
Council have set out sufficiently the potential educational benefits to address
concerns raised by stakeholders. Implementing the proposal of the statutory
consultation would bring financial hardship to families, impact on school
attendance and attainment and may indirectly influence parental choice of
school. 
8. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 
8.1 This report was considered under the Council’s Equalities Impact
Assessment process. The Equalities Impact Assessment is included as
Appendix 2.

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9. Consultation
9.1 Consultation on the proposed changes was undertaken in accordance with the
Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.
9.2 Legal Services and the Section 95 Officer have been consulted on the
content of this report.
10. Strategic Assessment
10.1 Undertaking a statutory consultation ensures we meet our
responsibilities as defined by the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland)
Act 2010. It works towards all three of the Community Planning
Partnership priorities of ‘empowered’, ‘sustainability’ and ‘wellbeing’
by ensuring that the views of local citizens are sought and
incorporated into our plans, and that we work to promote the
wellbeing of our children, young people and families.
Laura Mason
Chief Education Officer
Person to Contact: Andrew Brown, Senior Education Officer
andrew.brown@west-dunbarton.gov.uk
Appendices: Appendix 1 – Consultation Report 
Appendix 2 – Equalities Impact Assessment
Background Papers: Report and Proposal Paper submitted to Education
Committee on 08.03.2023
Equalities Impact Assessment No.749
Wards Affected: All wards