A COUNCIL is poised to cut home-to-school transport for the second time in four years – and there are fears disabled youngsters will be hardest hit.

Durham County Council, which will have cut £260m by 2020, is to consult on ending free home-to-school transport for children who move house during their GCSEs and over 16s who live in areas where there is no viable public transport or cannot travel independently due to a medical condition or disability.

The move would save around £740,000 by 2019.

Councillor Ossie Johnson, the cabinet member for children and young people’s services, said: “Any changes to home to school transport arrangements will inevitably have an impact on students and their families.

“We also recognise that there will be exceptional cases where we may still need to provide free transport on a discretionary basis so these proposals would still allow for this to happen.

“We want to seek the views of those who would be affected by the proposals before any final decision is made.”

The council’s cabinet will discuss the issue at County Hall on Wednesday, September 16.

Final decisions would be taken next Spring and implemented next September.

The previous cuts hit youngsters at faith schools and colleges and increased the distance a child must live from a school to get free transport from two to three miles.