The education secretary has blasted a Reform council leader’s “Victorian” proposal to extend the distance children can legally be expected to make their own way to school up to five miles. George Finch, Reform UK leader of Warwickshire County Council (WCC), has called for local authorities to be given powers to extend statutory walking distances to help cash-strapped councils cut down on their school transport spend. Bridget Phillipson accused Reform of 鈥渢aking our children back to the Victorian era鈥, while Liberal Democrat MP Manuela Perteghella described the idea as 鈥渃ruel, short-sighted鈥 and dangerous for children. 鈥淣o child should have to trek in the rain for five miles just to get to school,” said Perteghella. Council鈥檚 transport cost soars to 拢50m I鈥檓 calling on Bridget Phillipson to give local councils like WCC the power to adapt statutory walking distances for Home to School Transport.Costs have rocketed from 拢17.9m in 2018 to 拢50m. We鈥檝e got to make this sustainable while supporting families.Read my letter in full. — Cllr George Finch (@_GeorgeFinch) DfE statutory walking distances help determine if a child is eligible for free transport to and from school, provided by their local authority. Children under eight are eligible for free travel if their nearest suitable school is more than two miles away. For children eight or above, the distance is over three miles. The guidance states that when a child lives within the statutory distance, 鈥渢here is no expectation [they] will walk. It is for the parent to determine what arrangements would be suitable”. In a letter to Bridget Phillipson, Finch said WCC currently transports more than 10,000 pupils to schools, with the cost of the service soaring from 拢17.9m in 2018-19 to more than 拢50m this financial year. Despite steps to 鈥渋mprove efficiencies and minimise costs鈥 the council predicts the cost will rise to around 拢80m in the next five years, said Finch. But WCC analysis suggests increasing the statutory walking distance by one mile “could reduce our eligible cohort by eight per cent鈥, says Finch. Extending it by two miles would mean a reduction of 鈥渁pproximately 16 per cent鈥. Finch is calling for the government to give local authorities power to 鈥渃hange this statutory eligible walking distance where it makes sense to do so in a local area鈥. 鈥淐learly, the local authority would assess the potential impacts of such a change, and undertake all necessary public consultations,鈥 he added. Reform ‘taking children back to Victorian era’ But Phillipson firmly shot down the plans, writing on X: 鈥淪o you’re asking for powers to make kids walk five miles to school as we head into winter?” She accused WCC of “taking our children back to the Victorian era.鈥 Perteghella, the MP for Stratford-upon-Avon, also hit back at the plan, saying it would 鈥減unish families鈥 and 鈥減ut children鈥檚 safety at risk鈥. 鈥淩eform鈥檚 new school travel approach is cruel, short-sighted and completely out of touch with the realities facing families in Warwickshire,鈥 she said. 鈥淩eform wants to turn the clock back by decades, whilst parents are already struggling with rising costs and patchy public transport.鈥 Manuel Perteghella She said the answer to balancing the books for local authorities was 鈥渢o properly fund councils so they can deliver safe, reliable school transport鈥. Nicola Pastore, co-founder of charity Solve the School Run, said many families are currently forced to drive children to school causing school-run congestion, while families without a car can struggle. “Expanding the statutory walking distance will make these problems worse,” she said. “The way to reduce school transport costs in the long term, is to first invest in walking and cycling infrastructure that is safe enough for children to travel on independently, as they do in many European countries.” Half a million pupils eligible New DfE data published on Tuesday shows 520,000 pupils are thought to travel to school using LA-funded transport. This includes around 470,000 pupil under 16 years old 鈥 representing around six per cent of that cohort. Around 40 per cent are eligible because of their special educational needs, and 60 per cent are eligible because of other reasons, such as distance from school. Responding to these figures, school leaders鈥 union NAHT said 鈥渁 growing number of councils鈥 are 鈥渞educing transport provision due to increasing budgetary pressures鈥. 鈥淲hen children simply cannot get to school this threatens to deepen existing attainment gaps and place even more pressure on already stretched parents.鈥 One of 鈥檚 key pre-election pledges was to identify efficiencies and savings through a pilot of its own Elon Musk-style DOGE unit. But the party was accused of flying in the face of that pledge this month, after it emerged Reform UK-run Kent County Council plans to raid 拢2 million from schools鈥 budgets to pay for services it can no longer afford, and admitted it is likely to hike council tax charges. The DfE and WCC have been approached.
Diafol 30 October 2025 And so it comes to pass. You get the leaders you deserve. A shambles to a man/woman, yet the sheep will still bleat they made the right decision in voting this shower into power. A lack of LA experience and a lack of experience of life in general will see this young man wreck the authority.