Calls for council to help pay for school buses

As reported by the BBC, parents in a deprived Brighton community have launched a campaign group to lobby for free school bus travel across the city

Families in Whitehawk say they are struggling to send their children to their preferred schools due to the cost of travel.

The Class Divide Campaign group want Brighton & Hove City Council to fund free buses to all schools.

The council said it was “sympathetic”, but cannot afford it at the moment.

Richard Merrick, a local parent, said: “When we looked to go to senior school for my eldest child, King’s School Hove was the school we chose. Amazingly we got in. We were really happy with that.

“But it costs to get there. It costs £116 for every three months. Now with our second child we would like her to go to that school as well – so then we’re looking at another £116 for three months.”

Carlie Goldsmith, from the Class Divide Campaign, said: “One of the big challenges we’ve got here on the Whitehawk estate is that there are high levels of socio-economic deprivation, so a lot of our families, despite their best efforts, are struggling to really meet basic needs.”

Brighton and Hove City Council said it was “sympathetic to the request for free transport” but it could not provide any support.

The authority has recently been given £28m government funding to spend over the next three years and is waiting for permission to use some of the cash to reduce the cost of travel for young people.