Council spending £12m on taking children to school

A MERSEYSIDE council is set to spend more than £12.5m on providing school transport for children this year as costs continue to surge.

- By EDWARD BARNES

Costs have nearly quadrupled since the pandemic and are expected to be as high as £17m in three years' time.

Wirral Council is currently considering plans to change its policies to provide transport for children aged five to 16, as well as those older than 16. The chance for people to give feedback will end in January.

The council said: "While there is a need to make savings and reduce the environmental impact of the service, the council is also looking at how it can utilise some of the savings to help more children and young people travel independently."

At the moment, 2,200 children and young people are using transport provided by the council, with 1,900 of these being under 16 years old. This has led to a massive surge in costs for the local authority.