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Members of Calderdale Council's Cabinet tonight voted to make an important change in the rules on school transport.

Under the current rule, some parents and carers of pupils living close to the edge of the Calderdale boundary have been missing out on help with the cost of school transport.

But Cabinet has decided that subject to consultation, the rules will be changed, which, says Calderdale's Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Craig Whittaker, is great news and is a victory for common sense.

Currently, families who would have qualified for assistance prior to 2008 for help with home to school transport and send their child to a school in Calderdale miss out on the help if they live nearer to a school in another local authority area. The problem has particularly affected families living in Shelf, many of which choose to send their children to schools in Calderdale but live closer to schools over the border in Bradford.

Calderdale changed its home to school transport policy in 2008 following government legislation in 2006 designed to extend the rights of parents in relation to home to school transport. After seeking guidance from the DCSF (Department for Children, Schools and Families) the Council introduced the current rules. But the policy resulted in a small number of families missing out on help with school transport.

The revised home to school transport policy will make provision to ensure that families who qualify for help with transport costs wont miss out if they live close to a school in another authority but choose to send their children to a Calderdale school.

"While this affects only a very small number of families, the fact remains that the cost of home to school transport for many families, whatever their income, can be a big expense and this policy just had to be changed."

See also: Home to school transport policy