Public urged to take part in council's home to school transport consultation that closes tomorrow

The council is currently consulting on home to school transport, which has been a contentious issue in the past.

The consultation opened on February 10 and is due to close tomorrow (February 24).

Parents and carers are invited to share their experiences of home to school transport as part of work to shape the future of travel to school.

It’s part of a review into how travel to school works in practice. The council says it wants to listen to families, educational settings, and partners to understand what works well and where changes could make a positive difference.

But Corby MP Lee Barron says that the timeframe is ‘wholly inadequate’ and he has now written to the council’s director of children’s services Cornelia Andrecut to request that the consultation be extended after local people contacted him with ‘serious concerns’ about the ‘unreasonable timescale’.

His letter said: “This ‘consultation’ is scheduled to run for only two weeks. In my view, this is wholly inadequate and unfair for the families who rely on this service.

“Given the significance of this consultation—and the large number of families affected, many of whom have children with SEND—I request that the consultation period be extended by at least a further two weeks to ensure everyone who wishes to contribute is able to do so.”

His letter comes 18 months after many year seven parents said that they had not been informed of changes to school transport criteria.

Mr Barron said: “It became clear that communication had been poor and that lessons needed to be learned. I am keen that this unfortunate situation is not repeated, and that families receive clear, transparent information and a genuine opportunity to provide meaningful feedback.”

A similar consultation in 2023 ran for seven weeks.

North Northamptonshire Council have been contacted for comment.

You can view and take part in the consultation here.