Parents in North Yorkshire, England’s largest county, risk losing their entitlement to free door-to-door school transport from September, according to the Yorkshire Post.

The county currently spends £24.1 million per year – more than a third of its education budget – on transporting pupils to and from school. The cost has increased in recent years due to the closure of some rural primary schools, meaning that children must travel further each day.

At the moment, pupils are offered free transport from their homes to school, but the council wants to change the scheme so children are picked up from collection points.

Around 20,000 families may be affected, but the plans are still in the consultation phase. Patrick Mulligan, the council’s member for education said: ‘We’re a rural county and don’t have the public transport links some other areas do. We recognise the difficulties this presents across North Yorkshire’.

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