North Yorkshire Council has been accused of creating an "illusion of listening" after claiming the public backed changes to its controversial school transport policy, while campaigners say the consultation never asked families the question that matters most to them. The row flared on 11 November 2026, a week before councillors are due to consider the proposals. The council says a six-week consultation involving 588 people showed strong support for its proposed amendments. More than 450 of those who took part were parents and carers. The consultation ran from 21 September to 4 November, and its results are set to be discussed at a full council meeting on Wednesday 18 November. The policy at the centre of the dispute was introduced in September 2024. It changed the main test for free home-to-school travel, so that it now applies only to a child's nearest school with available places, rather than to their traditional catchment school. The council says the change was needed to make the service financially sustainable, fair to families and in line with government guidance. The service costs more than £54 million a year and supports around 11,000 pupils across England's largest county, many of them in deeply rural communities. ## What the council's consultation found According to the council, 85 per cent of consultation respondents supported improvements to the mapping data used to work out a child's nearest school, while almost 80 per cent backed clearer guidance on school entrances and eligibility. More than 86 per cent supported discretionary arrangements where two schools share the same transport drop-off point, and nearly 83 per cent backed clearer rules for pupils whose routes are further than walking distance and are deemed unsafe. Almost 84 per cent supported removing five remote roads from the mapping system because they can be affected by severe weather and difficult driving conditions. The routes are Fleet Moss Road, Keld to Kirkby Stephen, Buttertubs Pass, The Stang and Kidstone Pass. Nearly 78 per cent supported changes to how distances between home and school are measured, and 60 per cent agreed the revised policy was clearer and easier to understand. Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, the council's executive member for education, learning and skills, said the council had promised to review how the policy was working in practice and to listen to families. "That is exactly what we have done, and I am pleased to see the positive responses from people who took part in the consultation," she said. ## What campaigners say is missing The School Transport Action Group, known as STAG, says the consultation was deliberately restricted to relatively minor changes, and never asked families whether the previous catchment arrangements should be restored. In a separate survey of its own, the group found that 87.4 per cent of 111 respondents supported bringing back free transport to either a child's nearest school or their catchment school. A further 92.8 per cent of those surveyed said it was unfair that families affected by mapping errors and policy flaws had not been offered retrospective reassessments or remedies. A STAG spokesperson said the council was deluded if it thought minor changes would sort out school transport, adding: "You cannot fix a fundamentally flawed policy with a few tweaks." The group also questioned the council's projected financial savings, claiming more taxis were travelling across the county as children attended different schools. Liberal Democrat councillor Andrew Murday welcomed two of three immediate changes he had proposed, but said they did not go far enough. "Families who have been wronged by this policy must not simply be left to pick up the pieces," he said. "The underlying problems with this policy, which have been evident from day one, remain unresolved." ## What happens next Councillors will consider the proposed amendments, alongside the question of restoring catchment-based eligibility, at the full council meeting on 18 November. Any changes that are approved would not take effect before September 2027, and would apply to children starting Reception and Year 7 in September 2028. The council has reminded parents applying this year for a school place starting in September 2027 that the current policy remains in place until any decisions are made. The dispute has run since the policy was introduced, with rural families arguing that the nearest-school rule ignores established community links and leaves some children travelling to schools further from home in practical terms. For now, both sides agree on one thing: the decision on 18 November will not settle the argument. Sources: https://www.gazetteherald.co.uk/news/26717822.backlash-north-yorkshire-school-transport-changes/ and https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/news/2026/public-gives-their-backing-planned-school-transport-changes