CLWYD South MP has shared her disbelief over a “baffling” decision to scrap vital free school transport.
Susan Elan Jones MP and Karen Sinclair AM have hit out at the leadership of Wrexham Council after the executive board stuck by their controversial decision to scrap free buses for some pupils despite having the decision referred back to the executive board TWICE.
The move will mean some families in Chirk, Llay, Marchwiel and Caia Park will have to pay for transport for their children to get to school - including Dinas Bran in Llangollen - if they don’t attend their nearest one.
The Labour duo say the decision “calls into question whether the authority’s leadership still has the confidence of the Council members in Wrexham”.
The changes set to take effect in 2012 are, according to members backing the plan, to bring Wrexham in line with other local authorities and remove “inequalities”.
The widely contested ruling would “cause hardship to many low income families” according to Ms Jones.
“We all accept savings have to be made but the primary job of the local authority is to prioritise the frontline services that matter most to local people,” she said.
The affected communities have protested against the decision that will affect hundreds of students.
Karen Sinclair said: “I am very disappointed that this decision has been taken, particularly for the scores of young people I have met who feel they haven’t been heard in this process.”
The changes which the local authority have been trying to implement for years were approved in May by a six to three majority.
Dozens of angry schoolchildren and parents descended on the meeting with placards, following the decision to end subsidised school transport.
One mother from Chirk will have to send her daughters to separate secondary schools after 2012 and says she is “appalled” because she won’t be able to afford school transport for both of her daughters.
Some critics have speculated that the move will not remove inequalities but will increase them as families on higher incomes can send their children to their first choice school and others will have to send their children to a school that provides free transport.
Karen Sinclair reinforced the families’ concerns: “Given that the executive board chose to ignore the views of the full council and plough ahead with its own plans, seriously calls into question whether leader Aled Roberts and his team still retain the confidence and support of a majority of the full council.”