An illegal, unequal and unfair SEND Transport policy?
- By Brian Leveson
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- 18 Oct, 2022
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A consultation charter not followed, questions about the legality and fairness of a policy unanswered ... Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, I despair at the the lackluster performance of the officers of Haringey SEND at the October Cabinet meeting.
Where do you start?
I don't know where to start with the car crash performance of the officers of the Haringey SEND department and their political Godmother Zena Brabazon at tonight's Haringey Cabinet meeting. Questions regarding Haringey's new SEND Home to School Transport policy for children with special educational needs and disabilities were met with excuses from the departmental leadership and legal team as limp as 'that was an anomaly', 'we will get back to you' and 'The Chat has been Turned Off' when the response directly contradicted what is currently on the 'Local Offer' website.
The sickeningly sweet sycophancy from Haringey disabled children's Godmother
Zena Brabazon was very keen that we all knew just how long and how much the department had worked with parents - and they had.
- Meetings were held, attended by one or two people at most, some - none!.
- Consultations had been responded to - and they had - but the results of the consultation were not published as promised
- The Policy has been developed over many years - so you think the Officers would be well prepped to answer questions
- And the 'new' Haringey funded and approved parent carer forum apparently waxed lyrical about how marvelous the Haringey SEND Transport Department are to the SEND Executive Board (perhaps they want to avoid going the way of the last parent carer forum who lost their funding after saying consultations were a 'tick-box exercise' in Haringey to the previous SEND Reforms Board)
- The Department has had no complaints so far this academic year - of course if you do complain, you can find yourself being offered the unaffordable 'personal transport budget'.
Here we go!
Let's start with a stellar performance from the Leader of the Opposition, Luke Crawley Harrison who asked three questions and only three questions. There are many more questions to ask about the policy, but for the sake of democracy Luke is only allowed three.
- Legality:
Did the policy take into account all legal precedents regarding SEND Transport? Could Haringey be sure that they were not setting themselves up for an avoidable legal challenge?
- Fairness: Luke asked about 'the cost of living' (inflation) and how that had been factored into the policy with regards to personal budgets?
- Transparency - The Consultation Charter:
Haringey SEND had published on their local offer page that they would publish the results of the consultation before September 2022.
QUESTION ONE: On the question of 'legality'... (they didn't know - 2 and a half years in the making, and they didn't know)
Luke asked if the new SEND Transport Policy followed all legal precedents and would ensure the council would not face any avoidable legal cases in the future. Luke gave the example of parental preference
and the decision made by the judgement of S and another v Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council [2012] EWCA Civ 346. Link: https://www.ipsea.org.uk/s-and-another-v-dudley-metropolitan-borough-council-2012-ewca-civ-346
Haringey's policy says: where the school named in the child’s EHCP is the same as the parents’ preference, even though it may not be the nearest option. In instances where a school is named in an EHCP and the parent wishes to send their child to a different ‘preferred’ school, LBH will expect the parent to make their own travel arrangements, other than in exceptional circumstances.
The Court of Appeal set out the test that LAs should apply when determining whether or not they were obliged to pay for transport to a parent’s choice of school:
Haringey's policy says: where the school named in the child’s EHCP is the same as the parents’ preference, even though it may not be the nearest option. In instances where a school is named in an EHCP and the parent wishes to send their child to a different ‘preferred’ school, LBH will expect the parent to make their own travel arrangements, other than in exceptional circumstances.
The Court of Appeal set out the test that LAs should apply when determining whether or not they were obliged to pay for transport to a parent’s choice of school:
- First it should be established whether both schools are in fact suitable, and whether arrangements could be made for the child to attend the LA’s choice of school (i.e. a place is available). If the LA’s choice is not suitable, or there is no place available, then the parent’s choice is the nearest suitable school.
- If both schools are suitable, the cost of providing transport to both should be established and taken into account when considering whether the parent’s choice is incompatible with the efficient use of resources.
- Only if the total cost of the parent’s choice of school compared to the LA’s choice of school (including transport) is so significant as to represent an inefficient use of resources, then the LA can name two schools, with the condition the parents provide transport to the their choice of school.
QUESTION TWO: On the question of 'fairness' [there was no acceptable response from the council that gave us 'The Fairness Commission'].
Haringey's papers to Cabinet say Finance
8.1 The Travel Assistance budget for 2022/23 totals £4.7m and as at Quarter 1 is
showing a pressure of £2m where there are significant rises in fuel costs, inflationary
pressures and more eligible children requiring transport. The ongoing financial
consequences of the policy
https://www.minutes.haringey.gov.uk/documents/g10381/Public%20reports%20pack%2018th-Oct-2022%2018.30...
But in response to the Leader of the Opposition's questions about inflation and personal budgets, Jackie Difolco, Assistant Director said didn't seem to have an answer that made sense ... it was some nonsense about this being a new policy [that they have been developing over many years, since February 2020 according to the SEND department Godmother] and apparently with parents, apparently none of whom are struggling with the cost of living aka inflation.
We blogged about the cost of living at the beginning of the year: https://www.difficultparent.com/haringey-send-passing-on-risk-in-uncertain-times-to-vulnerable-famil...
https://www.minutes.haringey.gov.uk/documents/g10381/Public%20reports%20pack%2018th-Oct-2022%2018.30...
But in response to the Leader of the Opposition's questions about inflation and personal budgets, Jackie Difolco, Assistant Director said didn't seem to have an answer that made sense ... it was some nonsense about this being a new policy [that they have been developing over many years, since February 2020 according to the SEND department Godmother] and apparently with parents, apparently none of whom are struggling with the cost of living aka inflation.
We blogged about the cost of living at the beginning of the year: https://www.difficultparent.com/haringey-send-passing-on-risk-in-uncertain-times-to-vulnerable-famil...
The should have asked Council Leader Peray Ahmet, as she says herself, many people have approached her personally about the cost of living crisis, particularly the cost of fuel...
QUESTION THREE: On the question of Transparency - the apparent lack of it is due to an anomaly
When the Leader to the opposition asked about where were the results of the consultation, as after the consultation Haringey SEND promised that they would be published before the start of September.
The Consultation Charter says: At the end of the consultation we will communicate what will happen next, when the results of the consultation will be published, when and by whom the decision(s) on the proposal(s) will be taken, and when the decision(s) will be published
Jackie Dilfoco said in response: This was an anomaly. As soon as they released this (6th September) the notice changed.
It now reads " The SEND transport consultation is now closed and responses will be published in due course. We will send a formal report to Cabinet outlining the proposed changes to the policies following consultation, with draft policies for approval. In advance of the final policies being published, we will be hosting a Q&A session to share the consultation findings and answer any questions" ... but with no opportunity for scrutiny of the consultation results and the finalised policy before the final policy is published.
The Consultation Charter says: At the end of the consultation we will communicate what will happen next, when the results of the consultation will be published, when and by whom the decision(s) on the proposal(s) will be taken, and when the decision(s) will be published
Jackie Dilfoco said in response: This was an anomaly. As soon as they released this (6th September) the notice changed.
It now reads " The SEND transport consultation is now closed and responses will be published in due course. We will send a formal report to Cabinet outlining the proposed changes to the policies following consultation, with draft policies for approval. In advance of the final policies being published, we will be hosting a Q&A session to share the consultation findings and answer any questions" ... but with no opportunity for scrutiny of the consultation results and the finalised policy before the final policy is published.
A final word from Haringey's disabled children's Godmother
The SEND parent carer forum thought that the department had really tried to improve things with this policy...
I would hope that no parent and nobody 'representing' parents would ever agree to a disabled child having their home to school transport removed because of their disability, short term or otherwise.
I would hope that no parent and nobody 'representing' parents would ever agree to a disabled child having their home to school transport removed because of their disability, short term or otherwise.
If you thought SEND was bad - the NHS is seemingly prepared to throw away money to private companies
About 3 or 4 times a year we get the euphemistic message 'Parents please note we have put a letter in your child's bag' - its a world away from how a child's death was handled in my child's first school
More of a trial by ordeal than a well organised clearly set out administrative process for moving the care of vulnerable young adults from Haringey's Children's Services to Adult Services. We have been failed at every stage of the process.
Never EVER get on the bus without a camera running if you need the priority wheelchair space
The reality of using a London Bus in the teeming rain on a Sunday afternoon is no joke when the parents of a paraplegic person in a wheelchair clash with the self-entitled buggy-pushing parents of toddlers.
At 3pm today I received some barefaced lies from Haringey Council Adult Social Care in response to a photograph I published online yesterday and the media interest it generated
Haringey SEND Transport are insisting that a 17 year old minibus with no air conditioning is a suitable vehicle to transport my paraplegic son in this heatwave. The appalling conditions inside the minibus inside the bus is something they knew about last summer, yet they have to date done nothing whatsoever provide a suitable minibus this year nor appropriately mitigate the temperatures inside the minibus.The conditions inside the minibus are so bad that they triggered multiple seizures during the heatwave as my son has epilepsy, which they SEND transport department know about and they also know that they are triggered by heat.It is not just son who is impacted: last year we know of one child who died on Haringey SEND Transport in the summer heatwave and another who had seizures.
I am simply asking a question - are we all absolutely certain that the road closure / travel restrictions (commonly know as LTNs) placed on some of the most severely disabled people who are wholly reliant on cars are absolutely necessary
Haringey's road closures exemptions policy for disabled people is not fit for purpose, unduly burdensome and intrusive - it's time to stand up against the pro-LTN lycra-clad cycling bullies
Is the argument for and against exemptions for disabled people in Low Traffic Neighbourhoods really a case of GOOD versus EVIL?
