Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Berwick, has written to the Chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, the Labour MP, Margaret Hodge, to ask her to add her voice to the campaign to oppose the Labour administration at Northumberland County Council's decision to scrap free transport to school and college for the over 16's.
Last week, the influential Public Accounts Committee published a report in which it said that Councils should do more to track activity of teenagers not in education, employment or training and raised concerns about local authorities who are not helping teenagers with the cost of travel to school or College.
Margaret Hodge said; “Local authority decisions on support for transport costs will impact on the participation rates in education and training.. If young people cannot afford the travel costs they may drop out”.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, has now written to Margaret Hodge, saying that she wholeheartedly agrees with her comments and the report's findings and has asked that she contacts Grant Davey, the leader of the Labour administration to add her voice to calls for them to reverse the decision they made last September to scrap funding for post-16 travel to education.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan wrote; “I have been campaigning with parents in North Northumberland against this decision and for a fairer arrangement for our young people especially those who live in the more rural and remote parts of the County. I have also kept in regular contact with the Secretary of State for Education, Nicky Morgan, and have raised these concerns with her.. I also ask that you contact the Leader of Northumberland County Council, Grant Davey, and make direct representations to him that his Labour administration should reverse their decision.”
Anne-Marie Trevelyan said; “I hope that now this problem is being recognised at national level, including by a senior member of the labour party, the administration at Northumberland County Council will accept that their policy was a mistake and have re think”.
Conservatives in Northumberland have also put in a request for the number of young people who are registered as “Neets” (not in employment, education and training) in the County.