At last week’s Trafford Council Meeting the Conservative ruling Group refused to reinstate home to school transport for 11 special needs teenagers attending Brentwood School, who had this facility withdrawn last September.

Their crime; to have attained the age of 16 years and therefore be deemed to be outside of the statutory duty of the council, irrespective of their individual needs not having changed.

The result of implementing a policy consulted upon in 2012 but not implemented until 2015 has had substantial impact on these vulnerable teenagers and their families yet the council were happy to implement the policy without conducting any impact assessments.

As a member of the council I am ashamed that a council policy has resulted in a parent/carer losing their employment because of the amount of time now spent on the ‘school run’ and that a number of the teenage cohort at Brentwood only attend the school ‘part time’ at what is an important stage of their lives, because of the additional burden their parents and carers now have in getting them to and from school, whilst having to cope with the inevitable behaviour issues autism sufferers endure when routine is disrupted.

The leader of the council has said that the under him the council will undertake its statutory and moral duties to the vulnerable in this borough.

Perhaps he would now like to explain what he means by moral duty because there are 11 good reasons why he and his party in Trafford are just plain wrong on this issue.

Yours faithfully,

Mike Freeman

Labour Councillor for Sale Moor