In a delegated decision, Councillor Phil Wynn, Lead Member for Education, approved the submission of a response from Wrexham County Borough Council to the Welsh Government consultation on the Learner Travel Operational Guidance. The decision was made to ensure that the council's views are considered in the development of the guidance and that the response is submitted by the consultation deadline of 10 September 2025. Due to the deadline extension being granted late in the consultation period, the matter was dealt with as an urgent item of business.

Learner Travel Operational Guidance Consultation

Councillor Phil Wynn approved the submission of Wrexham County Borough Council's response to the Welsh Government's consultation on the Learner Travel Operational Guidance.

The Learner Travel Operational Guidance is made under Section 15 of the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008¹, and outlines the legal framework related to travel and transport provisions for learners travelling to schools in Wales. The Welsh Government's consultation seeks views on the draft second edition of the guidance, which makes changes to the first edition published in 2014.

The council's response to the consultation, which can be found in Appendix 1 of the reports pack, indicated general agreement that the updated guidance aligns with legislative developments, provides clarity on transport for learners with additional learning needs², and strengthens guidance on promoting access to education through the medium of Welsh.

The council suggested that the guidance on sustainable models of travel could be strengthened further with additional case studies and examples from Wales and elsewhere. They also requested more information and examples of where Personal Travel Budgets have been used, and guidance on how decision-making should be carried out when parents/carers are not satisfied with the offer provided by a local authority.

The report noted that:

Transport for learners is an enormous financial pressure for the local authority. The issue of recharging families is a contentious one and whilst the Council supports the principle of free education, it is accepted that in the face of increasing financial pressures in the public service, a recharge option cannot be fully discounted.

The deadline for responses was extended by a week due to an error in the Welsh version of the consultation document.