Proposal Four: To promote the most independent forms of transport assistance by prioritising a Public Transport Season Ticket or Personal Transport Budget over contracted transport, where this is appropriate and more cost effective

What is the current situation?

The School Transport service provides transport assistance to eligible students, as defined in the School Transport Policy 2024 and Department for Education guidance on Travel to school for children of compulsory school age. The assistance provided includes:

Personal Transport Budgets

In certain circumstances, and subject to parental consent, the most suitable arrangement might be for the parent to provide or arrange the transport.

In these cases, Hampshire County Council may offer parents a Personal Transport Budget (PTB) to enable the parent to make suitable travel arrangements for transport and/or passenger assistant support.

The PTB would replace the student’s existing travel arrangement.

Public transport passes

If appropriate and available, students are offered a public transport season ticket. This is usually for a bus service although it may be for a train service.

Contracted transport

If public transport is not available, the County Council may allocate the student to an existing contracted route (which may be a coach, minibus or taxi).

In rare cases, a taxi may be contracted to operate the service when:

• there is no suitable public transport available, and;
• there is not an existing contract serving the route, and;
• the parent is unable or unwilling to accept a personal transport budget, or;
• the student’s needs require it

Independent travel training

The School Transport Policy states that independent travel training may be offered to eligible students with parents’ consent.

Readiness to complete independent travel training would be outlined in the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or agreed by the County Council following a discussion with the school and parents. Once an eligible student has successfully completed Independent Travel Training, their travel arrangements would be reviewed.

What is being proposed?

One of the Hampshire SEND Local Partnership Board’s key outcomes is for young people to be able to build independence skills. The use of public transport is one of the skills a student will need in adult life. Personal Transport Budgets enable families to arrange their own transport and be reimbursed for any expenses incurred.

Therefore, we are proposing to prioritise granting a Public Transport Season Ticket or Personal Transport Budget over contracted transport, where this is appropriate and more cost effective. This would guide students, and their families, towards transport assistance that promotes independence.

Reason for this proposal

Until a sustainable long-term national funding solution can be found to address the intense financial pressures facing not only Hampshire County Council, but also wider local government, the County Council has no choice but to consider changing or reducing services in some areas and propose options for savings.

It is anticipated that this change would eventually contribute around £2 million per year towards addressing the County Council’s overall anticipated remaining £97.6 million budget deficit from April 2025.

Hampshire County Council also has a duty to promote the use of sustainable travel. For bus journeys, this could include using seats more efficiently leading to fewer journeys, or smaller vehicles, being needed.

Prioritising alternative forms of transport assistance would bring about cost savings and better meet the needs of some of our service users because:

• Personal Transport Budgets can be a more suitable arrangement for a student, enabling families to arrange their own transport and be reimbursed for any expenses incurred
• they can help in cases where suitable school transport is difficult to find (or not available at all) in the County Council’s contracted local provider market, where students may require an adapted vehicle, or where the student requires skilled support tailored to their individual needs
• they can provide the opportunity for a student to have, or to develop, greater independence – something that the County Council has a responsibility to promote, and that Department for Education statutory guidance recognises is an important part of preparing for adulthood that would help them lead fulfilling adult lives

Alongside this prioritisation, it is proposed to develop Independent Travel Training for eligible students.

This also helps promote independence, and could also result in the County Council providing transport that requires less support and at a lower financial and environmental cost (for example, the student might no longer need a passenger assistant or could travel in a shared vehicle rather than a solo taxi).

How would the proposal be implemented?

If this proposal is agreed, the School Transport service would update its transport allocation processes to prioritise the consideration of Personal Transport Budgets and public transport passes in the first instance, before considering contracted transport.

Alongside this, an Independent Travel Training offer would be finalised. This would be offered to students who are assessed as being able to benefit.

Should this proposal be approved, it is expected that a new process would be introduced from Autumn 2025 onwards and could apply to new and existing transport arrangements, however the School Transport service is already happy to discuss with parents at any time about whether a PTB would be suitable.

Potential impacts

This proposal would apply to both School Transport and Post-16 Transport users and could apply to both new and existing transport arrangements.

Some students with SEND may find it more challenging (or not possible) to navigate public transport independently, meaning that public transport passes may not be an option as part of their transport package.

Personal Transport Budgets may offer more flexibility than County Council provided transport, so this could still be a good option for families of students who cannot use public transport.

In addition, Independent Travel Training could help students with SEND build confidence and independence skills in using public transport, meaning that the option of using shared or public transport could be available for more students.

Exceptional cases and the right to appeal

There is an existing mechanism in place for the School Transport service to consider whether in exceptional cases transport can be granted as an exception to policy.

There is also a statutory right to appeal for any family who wishes to challenge a transport entitlement decision. This right of appeal covers decisions on whether a child is entitled to transport, and on the form of assistance offered.