Somerset 'missing out' due to high cost of rural transport

Figures published by the County Councils Network (CCN) indicate that the cost of transporting Somerset children to and from school is more than eight times the England average.

Somerset County Council leader David Fothergill has said that Somerset is 'missing out' and cannot provide other services as a result of the government not funding more of the cost of rural school transport.

The result of the government’s fair funding review, which looked at ways to update the amount councils will be allocated for different services, will publish its results later in the year.

The CCN’s investigations found that the average per pupil cost of delivering transport between home and school in county areas (i.e. not cities) is £93 per pupil – compared to an average of £10 in urban areas.

In Somerset, the cost of transport per pupil per return journey is £122 – more than 12 times the urban average, and more than eight times the England average of £15.

This is also the fourth-highest in the south west, exceeded only by Devon (£152), Cornwall (£136) and Dorset (£133).

The CCN has claimed that county councils – whether unitary or two-tier – are paying 'significantly more than any city or metropolitan borough, and the amount of core funding they receive from the government to meet this transport costs is considerably lower than urban areas.

A spokesman said: “By the end of the decade, counties will receive £161 of core funding per head, compared to an England average of £266 and £459 in London, and their funding from government will have almost halved over that period.

“In the case of home to school transport it is clear there is a ‘rural premium’ on delivering this kind of service.”

David Fothergill, leader of Somerset County Council, said the county is 'missing out' because of the high cost of transport, meaning it has to spend more money on transport rather than delivering other services.