FUNDING for home to school transport is set to be cut and parents are being asked how best to improve the service.

Bucks County Council has launched a consultation to discover solutions as it tries to save around £500,000 amid funding cuts from central government.

The transport policy is due to change as the council will cut back on its extra commitments to bring it in line with its basic legal requirements.

It means that free school transport will continue to be provided to children who attend the secondary school closest to their home. However for those communities where the majority of children attend a school which is not the closest, but is still the preference of the community, this free service is due to stop.

Cllr Zahir Mohammed, cabinet member for education and skills, said: “We appreciate this is a sensitive subject, so we’re keen to get opinions from as many people and groups as we can, to help us find solutions. By giving us your views, we can hopefully find a way through these issues that’s agreeable to the majority of parents, carers and residents.”

He added: “These changes need to be made so that we can provide a better, more targeted service that caters for the whole of the county and is consistent across the whole of the county.

“We want to see views from parents and stakeholders so that we can continue to provide a sustainable service to our residents.”

There are 9,786 children in Bucks who use the home to school transport – 12 per cent of the total children in Bucks schools – with 36 per cent of those travelling under five miles to school.

Some parents across the county, particularly those who live outside a school’s catchment area, generally pay for their children to use the county council’s transport service, with an annual pass for the 2016/17 academic year costing £599 regardless of the distance travelled.

However the council is asking for feedback on this as it says it does not make enough money to cover its costs currently, and as a discretionary service it’s “over and above what we have to do”.

The consultation does not have an impact on the home to school transport policy for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Any changes made in relation to the consultation will not be brought in until September 2017 at the earliest.

Have your say before Friday, July 15 at www.buckscc.gov.uk/schooltransportconsultation