Item 05 Appendix 2
West Dunbartonshire Council · 7 July 2023
Back to Educational Services Committee — 7 July 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
AssessmentNo 749 Owner andbrown Resource Transformation Service/Establishment Budget Ed First Name Surname Job title Head Officer Laura Mason Chief Education Officer (include job titles/organisation) Members Laura Mason - Chief Education Officer Andrew Brown - Senior Education Officer Kathy Morrison - Senior Education Officer Julie McGrogan - Senior Education Officer Claire Cusick - Senior Education Officer Ellen Moran - Principal Educational Psychologist (Please note: the word 'policy' is used as shorthand for stategy policy function or financial decision) Policy Title Statutory Consultation to alter arrangement for school transport The aim, objective,purpose and intended out come of policy To undertake a statutory consultation on the proposal to alter arrangements for school transport, bringing it more in line with the safe walking distance to schools of 2 miles for primary and 3 miles for secondary schools. Service/Partners/Stakeholders/service users involved in the development and/or implementation of policy. Consultation with affected stakeholders - children and young people, parents and carers, staff, Parent Councils, local elected members, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) and the Archdiocese of Glasgow of the Roman Catholic Church. Does the proposals involve the procurement of any goods or services? Yes If yes please confirm that you have contacted our procurement services to discuss your requirements. Yes SCREENING You must indicate if there is any relevance to the four areas Duty to eliminate discrimination (E), advance equal opportunities (A) or foster good relations (F) Yes Relevance to Human Rights (HR) Yes Relevance to Health Impacts (H) Yes Relevance to Social Economic Impacts (SE) Yes Who will be affected by this policy? Children and young people who will attend our schools, but reside between 1 and 2 miles from their catchment primary school, or between 2 and 3 miles from their catchment secondary school. This proposed change in policy will also impact on parents and carers due to an increased financial pressure on households, and on school attendance. Who will be/has been involved in the consultation process? West Dunbartonshire Council was required to undertake a 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. Children and young people, parents and carers, staff, Trade Unions, Parent Councils of affected schools, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), and the Archdiocese of Glasgow of the Roman Catholic Church were all consulted as part of this Appendix 2
Page 2
process. Education Scotland provide an independent view and assessment of the process in their own report. Please outline any particular need/barriers which equality groups may have in relation to this policy list evidence you are using to support this and whether there is any negative impact on particular groups. Needs Evidence Impact Age Cross Cutting Disability Social & Economic Impact Low income households. Introducing this policy change would adversely affect low income households. Households would need to provide suitable clothing and footwear for walking longer distances to school. Negative Sex Women/single parents; Priority group in terms of child poverty Around 90% of single parents are women. They would be disproportionately affected by the introduction of this policy, as they would need to provide suitable clothing and footwear for walking longer distances to school. A greater number of single parent households would also have to manage the challenge of potentially getting children to multiple locations (ie one child at nursery, and one at primary school) each day. Negative Gender Reassign Health Human Rights Marriage & Civil Partnership Pregnancy & Maternity Race . Religion and Belief We are required to The introduction of Negative
Page 3
provide access to denominational and non-denominational schools for children and young people living in our catchment areas. this change in policy would adversely affect choice of school, due to some non-denominational schools being easier to access than denominational schools. Sexual Orientation Actions Policy has a negative impact on an equality group,but is still to be implemented, please provide justification for this. The response to the statutory consultation was negative, and highlighted impacts on equality groups as noted above. Through the consultation, an alternative was identified, whereby a saving could still be made on the cost of providing transport (by asking a number of young people to make use of their Under 22 Travel Pass instead of a local authority provided bus pass to access the same transport to and from school), but by not implementing the proposed change to the policy. This would therefore not impact the equality groups. Will the impact of the policy be monitored and reported on an ongoing bases? The proposed change to policy will not be implemented, but instead an alternative pursued whereby some young people make use of their under 22 Travel Pass instead of being provided with a local authority bus pass. Officers will work with partners to ensure uptake of the Under 22 Travel Pass scheme, ensuring that no young person is without a pass to get to and from school. Head Teachers and Central Education Officers will report back to Educational Services committee the progress with implementing this change, but the policy will stay the same. Q7 What is you recommendation for this policy? Modify Please provide a meaningful summary of how you have reached the recommendation EIA 749: Introducing the proposed change to the school transport policy would adversely affect low income households, single parent households and may indirectly affect parental choice of denominational or non-denominational school. It is recommended that the change proposed in the consultation is not introduced, but that savings are made in another way that does not affect equality groups.