£72,158 for 4.78-Mile School Runs

Staffordshire County Council paid £72,158 for one pupil’s school taxi in a single year.

The journey covered just 4.78 miles daily. This topped the council’s list of 20 highest SEND transport costs. Nineteen other pupils exceeded £30,000 each.

Council data reveals the scale. Staffordshire funds transport for 2,890 SEND pupils. Of these, 290 ride alone in taxis.

The £72,158 bill includes a personal assistant’s fee. Statutory rules demand safe, low-stress travel. Councils must comply or face legal challenges.

Councillors called the costs “very high.” Reform UK’s Janet Higgins outlined fixes: shared taxis, route tweaks, a revived vacant seat policy for mainstream pupils.

Previous administrations axed that policy. Council buses now bypass empty seats, forgoing income. Reform UK pledges English tests and first aid for drivers.

Deficit Balloons Amid National Surge

Staffordshire’s schools grant deficit hits £90 million by 2025/26 end. Transport fuels this. Nationally, SEND spending soars as EHCP applications multiply.

Councils hide deficits via statutory override until 2028. A government white paper looms next year. But overrides delay accountability.

EHCPs rose 140% since 2015. Tribunals overturn 98% of council refusals. Families win transport demands, councils foot unchecked bills.

Legal Mandates Trap Local Budgets

Statute locks in single-occupancy vehicles for complex needs. Councils lobby for change but deliver little. Costs cascade from central policy to local taxpayers.

Reform UK leads Staffordshire now. Yet the pattern predates them. Labour councils faced identical spikes; Conservatives oversaw EHCP explosions.

One pupil’s £72k equals 197 average UK salaries. That funds 72 full teacher years at entry level. Resources divert from classrooms to cabs.

Private firms charge premium rates for escorted taxis. No-bid contracts persist. Oversight lags as deficits mount off-balance-sheet.

Public trust erodes. Parents game systems via appeals. Councils concede to avoid court losses, inflating bills year on year.

This exposes SEND transport as microcosm of fiscal capture. Mandates outrun budgets; overrides paper over cracks. Reform promises stall against law.

Cross-party continuity defines the crisis. Every government since 2010 hiked EHCPs without matching funds. Local authorities buckle under central diktats.

Taxpayers bear £72k per extreme case. Scaled nationally, billions vanish into wheels. No party reverses the tide.

Staffordshire’s bill signals deeper rot: institutions prioritize compliance over control. Legal entitlements trump efficiency. Britain’s public finances bleed from such unchecked edges, across all governing hands.