The leader of Warwickshire County Council is facing the first major challenge to his authority with Conservative councillors set to oppose his controversial ideas for home-to-school transport.

Deputy leader of the Tory group Cllr Jan Matecki has put forward a motion, which if accepted becomes a statement of the council's intent, requesting that leader Cllr George Finch withdraws a letter to the government that he also published on his social media platforms.

In it, Cllr Finch asked for Warwickshire County Council to have scope to extend the maximum distances that families are expected to travel to get children to school without transport being provided.

He has committed to not withdrawing transport support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The letter and its context

A national standard currently applies to home-to-school transport eligibility. Children aged under eight can access council-funded provision if they are two miles or more from their nearest available school place. That distance is three miles for those over eight. 

The bill for such provision has almost trebled from £17.2 million in 2018-19 to projections of more than £50 million this financial year and the latest financial plan put forward by financial professionals at the council targets £192,000 worth of savings in the next financial year (2026-27) and £894,000 for each year thereafter through its planned change programme.

Cllr Finch argued there should be leeway to increase the distances "where it makes sense to do so in a local area", particularly in shire locations where distances to the nearest schools can vary widely from town to town.

He said 16 per cent – more than one in seven children – could lose automatic eligibility if the distance was increased by two miles.

While that was caveated with a commitment to "assess the potential impacts" and complete necessary consultations, Cllr Finch has endured a backlash with a number of questions raised by opposition parties at scrutiny panels in recent weeks but this motion takes things a step further.

Tories take a stand

At a meeting of all councillors on Tuesday (December 16), Cllr Matecki will ask for the council to recognise "the potential impact such a change would have on children's safety, wellbeing and access to education, particularly in rural communities" as well as the "anxiety and uncertainty" caused by the letter.

He wants colleagues to get behind asking Cllr Finch to withdraw his letter and to "reaffirm (the council's) commitment to safeguarding children's access to education, ensuring no child is disadvantaged due to geography or financial constraints".

Supported by group leader Cllr Adrian Warwick, it is the first time the Conservatives have formally opposed the administration's plans since Reform UK took power in May. 

Reform UK leads a minority administration at Shire Hall. They are in power by virtue of having the most council seats – 22 plus one supportive independent out of 57 – but decisions or actions can be opposed or blocked if rival parties club together to vote against them.

The Tories supported initial leader Cllr Rob Howard into office before he stood down after 41 days citing health issues. They opted not to vote either way on Cllr Finch's step up from deputy leader, enabling Reform UK to maintain power by the slimmest of margins.

Should all – or even most – Conservatives vote for the motion, Cllr Finch would be left without support for a stance that he has sought to defend in recent weeks. 

Scrutiny

During the last children and young people's overview and scrutiny committee, Cllr Jennifer McAllister suggested he was "now regretting having written that letter".

Cllr Finch replied: "Absolutely not, no. 

"The administration and myself do not regret writing the letter. It is the best thing for the council and it is the best thing for those disabled children.

"We can all dance around it and stand on eggshells but this needs to be dealt with. This is unsustainable and this administration is working with officers to put the best foot forward."

He was also criticised for not discussing the letter with other councillors but said he had worked with portfolio holder for education Cllr Wayne Briggs and portfolio holder for transport and planning Cllr Jennifer Warren "to try to communicate our concerns as an administration".

Addressing whether his views were those of his cabinet, Cllr Finch said: "When we did send the letter to national government, it was with the support… well, as leader of the council I wrote it."

He was asked by Green councillors whether he felt a 10-mile round trip would be an unreasonable distance for any eight year old to walk to school and back.

Cllr Finch said: "It isn't right to make children walk those miles and I never said we would.

"I think that is where parents need to step in as well as the council to work on the best efforts for those children."

He reiterated that children with SEND will continue to receive support and "always will do".

How well briefed the cabinet were came into question the following day.

Cllr Matecki, who was in charge of transport and planning until May and now chairs the communities overview and scrutiny committee, asked Cllr Warren whether she had been aware of Cllr Finch's letter prior to it being sent. 

Cllr Warren paused before saying: "I am going to say yes. Yes." 

Cllr Matecki went on to ask her whether she believed it addressed the key challenges and what those challenges were.

"The only thing I will say on the letter is that we are looking at different options for the review of home-to-school transport, which was the mileage. That would have been included in our findings and the data that we are now collecting," said Cllr Warren. 

Cllr Matecki described Cllr Finch's letter and subsequent BBC radio interview on the matter as "quite contradictory", again requesting Cllr Warren's take on what the key challenges are.

"Well it is the difference of whether we can get people to travel two miles or three miles, that gives us a broader outlook of what we can do for statutory rights," she replied.

"That's the reason that was in there, we are making no decisions at all because we are in consultation and we are having all data provided by the officers which we will use to make some decisions. That's really all I have to say on that letter." 

Asked about the breakdown of costs for SEND transport and those associated with transporting other children, Cllr Warren said: "We are completely aware of that and they are both being treated completely separately." She insisted the "thorough investigation on home-to-school transport" would "not affect SEND".

Asked to provide the split of the costs, Cllr Warren said: "I haven't actually got that but I can get back to you with it."

Cllr Matecki said: "I can tell you, it is about £30 million. That is a large percentage and maybe something you need to consider."