Council hikes school transport costs by £170

A council said it had taken the "tough decision" to increase non-statutory home to school travel by £170 from September.

North Northamptonshire Council said the annual charge had "largely remained unchanged" for the past decade, but would now change from £795 to £965 from the start of the next academic year.

The Reform UK-controlled council added that "relatively minor increases" in recent years had caused a "cost gap to develop to unsustainable levels, meaning the service is heavily subsidised".

It insisted the per-head charge remained below the "full cost" of delivering the service.

Chris McGiffen, the council's executive member for highways and travel, said the situation had reached "a point where the issue must be addressed".

He said: "We are a listening council and I know that there may be some who find this increase hard.

"That's why we have several measures in place to help mitigate this and I'd encourage people to have a look on our website and see what support is on hand."

The authority said discounts were on offer for siblings attending the same school, and said it offered a monthly payment option.

It added that the change in fees also included students moving into post-16 education from September.

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