Stephen Lloyd, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson from Eastbourne and Willingdon has produced the below email text which can be adapted to help you campaign against disabled school transport funding cuts. If you don’t have a Conservative MP, adapt the message and send it to the Secretary of State directly via: ministers@education.gsi.gov.uk.
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Dear XXXXX,
I have just heard that the Government plans to spend £20 million taking children to their nearest new grammar schools whilst cutting funds from the disabled and disadvantaged general school transport budget.
Apparently the new funding is for grammar school pupils to be ferried by taxi at a cost of up to £5,000 per student each year. All whilst the government will reduce money for local councils providing transport for disabled children to our mainstream and special schools, by £7m pa from 2016-17 onwards.
Many of you will know of the local campaign I’ve highlighted recently in support of young Billy and his mum Leanna, who because she was refused transport funding has had to give up her job as a teacher so she can take Billy to college herself. A dreadful episode which a number of us, with Leanna’s support, are still trying to explore a possible legal challenge.
So to read this announcement by the Department for Education is just appalling. What they’re effectively saying is we’ll cut the funding for disabled and disadvantaged children’s transport to the vast majority of schools, but increase it substantially for those pupils chosen to attend a new selective grammar school.
No ifs or buts – this is an absolutely disgraceful decision by the Conservative Government.
They should be ashamed of themselves – and we must hold every single Tory MP in the country to account over such an unfair decision.
Please sign my petition, contact your local Conservative member of parliament to say you have signed – and demand they lobby their colleague, Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening MP, to reverse this shockingly divisive proposal.
And insist the Department for Education give the money back to where it rightly belongs and where it has been cut – the Transport fund for ‘all’ our affected children and not just the grammar school few.
It’s bad business and mustn’t go unchallenged!
Sign below please. Thank you.
Regards
Stephen Lloyd
Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokeperson
Eastbourne and Willingdon