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Green light for charges
Derbyshire parents who choose to send their children to schools outside their usual catchment areas for religious reasons will soon have to pay transport charges.
Following a consultation exercise by education authority Derbyshire County Council, it has been announced that charges are to be introduced for children who previously received free or heavily subsidised transport to faith schools who live more than two miles away from their homes.
During the consultation period, the authority sought the views of people, including parents, transport operators and governors.
More than 3,000 responses were received, with 12 petitions opposing changing the charges.
From the beginning of the academic year in 2010, parents will have to pay 268 per primary school child and 295 for secondary school students to travel to faith schools.
A council spokesman said transportation to faith schools had historically been subsidised by the authority when children travelled over two miles if aged under eight and over three miles if they were aged over eight.
The means-tested system cost the council around 900,000 annually.
He said: "The transport is still subsidised but it will save the council about 350,000 a year to charge this way.
Because it is not coming in until 2010, it gives parents time to make informed choices about where to send their child to school."
The new charges will be introduced as part of the authority's target to save 7.3 million each year.
Charges will be phased in to protect parents receiving free transport, and they will have the opportunity to spread the cost over the academic year.
There will also be a maximum cost per household. If a family has more than two children who are travelling to a faith school, the extra
children will not be charged.
Current charges are set to remain in place until September 2010.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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