Birmingham City Council is telling SEND families to pay more for transport

A public consultation on the review of the Labor council’s travel assistance policy was launched earlier this year, with the authority admitting that its proposal “involves a reduction in what is provided”.

“This is not something that the board wants to do, but rather considers itself to be driven by the current financial situation,” he said.

The council also admitted that the proposed increase in parental contribution may impose a “significant financial burden”, particularly on families with more than one child, potentially discouraging students from pursuing higher education.

Conservative councilor Adam Higgs said: “Every child, regardless of disability, should be given the opportunity and encouragement to thrive educationally.

“This is a very emotional topic on all sorts of fronts for families and carers,” added Labor councilor Jayne Francis during a cabinet meeting in April.

“But I was pleased to see that we continue to offer the same level of support to our compulsory school-aged children and over-19s.”

Council leader John Cotton previously accused the government of causing wider financial problems at local council level, but First Minister Rishi Sunak insisted the authority had mismanaged its finances.

This news was collected by Local Democracy Reporting Service covering councils and other public service organisations.