Free school transport is extended

Faith schools want the same transport provision as Welsh-medium schools

New powers extending free transport to school children and promoting access to Welsh-medium schools have been passed by assembly members.

Primary children over eight will now get free transport to their nearest school if they live more than two miles away rather than the current three.

Secondary pupils who live three or more miles away will also qualify.

The Church in Wales has complained faith school students will not get the same deal as Welsh-medium pupils.

The Learner Transport Measure will become law once it receives royal approval.

The measure also issues guidance to local authorities that they should promote access to Welsh-medium education.

This is incredibly disappointing for parents and pupils of faith schools Darran Millar AM

Whilst not law, this should see students who live the necessary distance away receive free transport to their nearest Welsh school, even if another non-Welsh school is closer.

Religious leaders wanted faith schools given the same concessions as their Welsh-language counterparts.

But Transport Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said that would mean faith schools' concessions would also have to be given to secular schools.

He said: "Nothing in this measure changes the current arrangement."

Mr Jones said local authorities had the choice to transport children to a faith school that was further than a local secular school.

He said: "There is no [assembly] government policy to promote access to faith schools [as there is to Welsh-medium schools] because if I introduced a duty into this legislation that children could be transported to faith schools, I would have to have a similar duty to transport pupils to a secular school, if the school nearest to them was a faith school.

"That would be extremely complicated and would be very burdensome on local authorities."

A safety campaign began after Stuart Cunningham-Jones died

The assembly government used its new law-making powers to draw up the measure in response to calls for better school transport regulation following the death of 12-year-old Stuart Cunningham-Jones in a crash in the Vale of Glamorgan in 2002.

Campaigners for more school bus safety wanted the Learner Travel Measure to ban double-decker buses as school transport, make seat belts compulsory and ensure there were no more than two pupils to a seat instead of three as there are now.

But the assembly government said that it did not have that power at present, although Mr Jones said he would be seeking the ability from the UK government as soon as a new UK transport secretary was appointed following the resignation of the incumbent, Ruth Kelly.

Stuart Cunningham-Jones's father, David, had urged the assembly government to introduce the rulings even if they were later overturned by a court.

Following the decision, Darran Millar, Conservative AM for Clwyd West and chair of the Cross-Party Faith group, said: "This is incredibly disappointing for parents and pupils of faith schools.

"The outcome of tonight's [decision] directly discriminates against children who attend these schools."

Liberal Democrat AM Peter Black said: "Whilst many local authorities do indeed already have the good practice to provide access to faith and Welsh-medium schools, it is not mandatory.

"We were seeking to ensure parental and child choice and equality of access - the government has disgracefully prevented this."