A CHARITY has expressed concern over council proposals to withdraw free school transport for disabled teenagers.

North Yorkshire County Council is currently consulting on plans to withdraw funding for school or college transport for post-16 youngsters with special needs or disabilities.

The move is being considered as part of the council’s cost-cutting measures and would save around £2m per year.

Amanda Batten, CEO at Contact which supports families with disabled children, said the charity carried out its own transport inquiry last year.

It found that school transport was one of the top issues affecting the families Contact supports and Ms Batten urged careful consideration before the proposals were ratified.

She said: “As North Yorkshire County Council’s consultation on school transport progresses we are urging councillors to think carefully before making their decision on changes to SEN (special educational needs) transport.

“We are really concerned that disabled youngsters in the borough face losing their transport to school or being charged for it.

“While we recognise the significant financial pressure that North Yorkshire County Council is under to balance the books, we don’t believe the solution is to pass this pressure onto vulnerable families.

“We know from our school transport inquiry that the impact of losing school transport is huge – with parents having to give up work or reduce hours and disabled children experiencing stressful journeys.”

Ms Batten said the charity was seeing an increase in disabled youngsters being refused school transport or being charged as councils exploit a loophole in the law.

She said: “How can it be fair that the law says a disabled young person must be in school or training until 18 but does not have the transport to get there once they turn 16?”

Contact is calling on the Government to plug the gap in school transport policy.

Cllr Patrick Mulligan, executive member for home to school transport, said in February that the authority was consulting on the plans “with reluctance” and that decisions were getting harder as austerity continues.

The consultation into the council’s proposals is set to end later this month.