Post 16 SEND Transport consultation update

Dear Parent/Carer,

We are writing to let you know that the decision on a proposal to no longer provide transport for post-16 SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) students from September 2025, due to be heard at tonight’s meeting of Cabinet, has been deferred to a future date.

We know that the proposed decision is concerning for families across Newcastle. It is not a decision we would ever take lightly, and all options have been reviewed.

As with many local authorities, we face increasing financial pressures and facing having to find £24 million in savings in the upcoming financial year alone. It is not a legal obligation to provide transport for post-16 SEND students, but we have made every effort to fund this service for as long as possible.

We currently spend on average £250,000 a week on providing transport for all of our SEND students. At present, there are 189 post-16 learners who receive funded transport from the Council, at an estimated cost of £131,000 per month.

This proposed decision follows extensive consultation during last year's budget planning and additional engagement with young people, families and professionals over the summer. The pressures on the SEND transport budget have since increased again, meaning the money simply isn’t there to offer provision above and beyond our statutory duty.

However, officers have been asked by Cabinet to provide additional financial modelling and so the agenda item has been deferred to a future meeting of Cabinet, the date of which will be confirmed in due course. This will allow Cabinet to consider the proposal in further detail, and also provide them an opportunity to have reviewed the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Policy Statement on local government funding that they intend to issue in late November.

If there is no clear scope for additional funding specifically for SEND transport in that statement, then we will likely have to move forward with this proposal. That is never a decision that any Cabinet wishes to make but we have a responsibility to residents in Newcastle to deliver a balanced budget. Not doing so could put all our services at risk.

Regardless of any decision on this matter, we are continuing to expand our independent travel training programme, which has been widely praised by young people and their parents/carers. We are also doing everything we can to work with those potentially affected to ensure they are aware of the additional support available to support post-16 SEND students, and how this can be used to support them with their travel arrangements.

If you have any questions about the decision to defer this item please email linda.scott@newcastle.gov.uk.