A bitter row over changes to home-to-school transport policy in North Yorkshire has escalated with accusations of the truth being misrepresented and promises being broken.
North Yorkshire Council this week voted to reject a motion by opposition councillors to conduct a review of the new rules, which mean free school transport is only available to a child’s nearest school, this year.
Critics of the policy change claim the council has pushed back the review from 2025 to 2026 and have pointed to official documents presented to councillors last year, which appear to support this.
But council leaders say the review was always due to take place in 2026.
Speaking at a full council meeting on Wednesday, deputy leader Gareth Dadd said the motion suggesting a 2025 review was promised “misrepresented the facts”.
Councillor Annabel Wilkinson, executive member for education, learning and skills, added that she had explained at a decisive meeting in July 2024 that the post-implementation review would take place in summer 2026.
She said:
“I oppose any resolution that suggests there’s been a delay — there has not.
“We have been through this together time and time again and the facts are clear.
“I urge you colleagues, please stop revisiting the same ground and instead support our children services to continue one sentence please chair to continue the vital work of protecting and nurturing North Yorkshire’s children.”
The motion was defeated after Conservative councillors voted against the proposal, while Labour councillors abstained.
Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Barbara Brodigan, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, who proposed the motion, said:
“The Conservative and Labour councillors know the damage this policy is doing — and yet they have condemned families to another three years of school transport chaos.
“They are as aware as we are of the mistakes that have been made, yet they’re still sitting on their hands and doing nothing about it.
“The council promised a one-year review — and now it’s broken that promise.
“Rural families are being failed by a system that’s unfair, unsafe and unworkable.”
The School Transport Action Group, which was formed to fight the policy change, claimed the council had formally recorded a July 2025 review.
A spokesperson added:
“That commitment was approved by full council and written into the equality impact assessment as a safeguard for rural families.
“Yet the executive now insists the review was always due in 2026 — a claim directly contradicted by the council’s own documents and freedom of information responses.”
The spokesperson said it had written to Cllr Wilkinson “seeking answers to these contradictions and asking how she can justify further delay when the policy’s failings are already clear”.
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