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Parents preparing ‘deluge’ of appeals against Birmingham council SEND cutbacks

Birmingham City Council faces a “deluge” of appeals from parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) over cuts to school transport services, parents and insiders have said.

As part of £300m in spending cuts approved by councillors last week, SEND pupils aged 16 to 18 will no longer be eligible for council-funded taxis or minibuses to take them to and from school or college.

With the change coming in from September, parents have vowed to spend the next six months “fighting” to keep the support their children need by appealing against the council.

i revealed that 861 teenagers aged 16 to 18 currently use the home-school transport service in Birmingham, meaning the council could face hundreds of appeals.

Councils are legally required to provide transport support for SEND pupils aged between five to 16 in compulsory education, but are not legally bound to offer support services to SEND children beyond the age of 16.

The cuts to SEND transport will save about £7m, according to the council – part of £52m slashed from its children’s and families budget.

This is part of £300m in spending cuts approved last week after Birmingham council – the largest municipal authority in Europe – effectively declared bankruptcy last year.

A council insider estimated that at least half of the parents impacted might launch an appeal in the next six months.

It comes amid a backdrop of rising SEND appeals, with a report by the Birmingham City Council’s Education, Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee, published in July last year, showing the authority is already experiencing “capacity issues”.

Tribunals are also costly, with a report by the National Children’s Bureau (NBC) published last February showing the council spent £10m fighting SEND appeals over seven years.

But a Birmingham council spokesperson said that “no additional budget” will be used for appeals.

Eligible teenagers will still receive a travel pass or “personal travel budget” to help them get to school, as well as independent travel training, but the council insider said this is unlikely to suit every child’s needs.

They told i the council has “put barriers up” with more children qualifying for bus passes, but they will no longer be able to access private taxis or minibuses with specially trained guides.

“They are definitely putting barriers up,” they said. “That’s why parents will be going through appeals and appeals will be going up.”

Adrian Weissenbruch, assistant director of Home to School Transport at Birmingham City Council, ran a consultation meeting for parents on 7 March where he confirmed the service was changing.

Parents who attended the meeting told i they heard the council was preparing for a “deluge of appeals”.

Sabiha Aziz, a local campaigner who has two SEND children, said she is one of many parents currently gathering evidence to appeal on behalf of her 18-year-old son Adam.

“It’s another battle,” she said, explaining that she previously took the council to a tribunal over her son’s education, health and care plan (EHCP) to get him into a school for children with special educational needs.

Adam is “severely learning disabled” with complex needs including nonverbal autism, epilepsy and ADHD, she said.

Ms Aziz continued: “The appeal [against the transport service cut] is going to take up all of my summer when my young people are at home and I should be spending time with them.

“That’s going to cause stress in my household; that’s going to cause arguments in the household. I know because I’ve done this before.

“I’m one person battling all of this. On top of being a full-time parent carer.”

Ms Aziz said it would be “disastrous” if Adam was no longer able to go to school as he would lose access to education as well as his therapies.

A spokesperson from Birmingham City Council said a consultation on the cuts to SEND transport was ongoing – even though the budget cuts had already been approved.

They said: “Birmingham City Council’s policy sets out the appeals process for families unhappy with decisions made about the support provided to their child.

“All appeals are considered by officers independent of the original decision-making and this would continue to be the case should appeals increase if the policy changes are adopted.

“We can also confirm no additional budget will be used for appeals.”

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