Parents, carers and pupils in Motherwell and Wishaw have repeatedly raised concerns after the Labour administration in North Lanarkshire, with support from the Conservatives, cut school transport provision. I share those concerns, having walked some of those routes with families and watched Sean Ferrie’s brilliant video about his walk to school, detailing the hazards that he will face if that cut is rolled out to primary schools, as planned, next year. What processes are in place for parents, carers and pupils to challenge decisions on safety grounds and to challenge the local authority’s refusal to review those walking routes?

The issues at stake here are properly a matter for the local authority to determine, but it has a duty to make the arrangements that it considers necessary for the transport of pupils between home and school and to have regard to their safety. That commitment is a significant element of the guidance that is available, which has to be addressed by the local authority. The local authority’s engagement processes should be designed to ensure that parents and carers can make representations where they are concerned about the safety of their children, and the local authority should take those seriously.