Firstly can I thank the hundreds of parents that have given their views at the recent evening meetings that have been held. I think it’s fair to say we have had a frank, honest and sometimes heated exchange of views.

I certainly appreciate all the concerns raised. However, the reality is that I cannot afford to fund this service to the generous levels that we did previously.

As we’ve set out in our recent budget consultation, next year, across all services we’ll have £28m less to spend. We’ll aim to cover this by making £16m savings but that still leaves a £12m gap to close. These are big numbers and it means taking extremely tough decisions.

This is the background context as to why we are changing home to school transport routes and increasing fares. If I didn’t have to do it I wouldn’t, but hopefully parents will start to understand the reasons why.

For this to be a sustainable service, it needs the increased income from fares, it needs the further savings that we can drive out and it needs the further service improvements we can still achieve. I and Amey, our transport providers will continue to do what we can in the coming months to achieve a safe and economically viable solution for all.

I make no apologies for saying we are having to make savings in home to school transport as we are in other council services. I don’t expect all parents reading this letter to welcome that, but I hope I’ve managed to give the context. I’d also encourage everyone to respond to our latest budget consultation on our website – www.buckscc.gov.uk/about-your-council/finance/budget/budget-consultation/ which is open until November 9. – Mike Appleyard, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, Buckinghamshire County Council