Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare any interests in the items under consideration and in

doing so state:

(1)               the type of interest concerned either a

(a)                personal interest

(b)                (b) prejudicial interest

(c)                (c) disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI)

and

(2)               the nature of the interest concerned

If any member requires advice on declarations of interests, they are advised to contact the Head of Democratic Governance in advance of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting held on 13 December 2021 as a true and correct record.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2021 are approved as a correct record.

Resolved: That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the whole of the items including the decision referred to at Agenda Item 4 on the grounds that it would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To consider an appeal lodged in connection with the provision of assistance for home to school transport.

(This item contains personal information regarding the appellant, which is exempt from publication by virtue of Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972).

The Committee considered a request to review the decision of the Council to not provide assistance with home to school transport.

Mrs Goodall (Head of Legal, Governance and Partnerships) was in attendance to advise the Committee on procedure and policy only and had taken no part in the original decision. Also in attendance was Mrs Cook, Clerk to the Committee.

The relevant Head of Service presented the case on behalf of the Authority and advised the Committee of the reasons why the application for Home to School Transport had been refused and this decision had been upheld at Stage 1, the officer review. The Head of Service emphasised that the child lived closer to their school than the 3 mile reasonable distance set out in the Council’s Home to School Transport Policy and the Authority based on expert opinion did not consider that the child’s other needs were at the level where they could not reasonably walk to school with normal parental supervision.

A family member presented the case on behalf of the Appellant and provided information on the child’s medical needs and behavioural issues and asked that the home to school transport be continued.

The Committee carefully considered all the representations and documentation put forward by both parties.

The Committee acknowledged the information put forward by both the Appellant in their submission and by the Local Authority and was satisfied that the decision to not provide assistance with home to school transport was reasonable and correct and that the Council’s policies and procedures had been followed. The Committee also considered that there was not evidence of any grounds on which to depart from the policy.

Resolved:

That the appeal is dismissed as the Committee was satisfied that the Council’s relevant policies and procedures had been correctly followed and the decision was reasonable and correct.

To note the date of the next Appeals Committee as 7 November 2022.

Resolved: To note the date of the next meeting as 14 October 2022.