‘Home to school transport requires close attention, we will not turn our back on parents’-Councillor Matt Stanton.

Beam Park Councillor Matt Stanton today writes in the Havering Daily on the current proposed cuts to transport for SEND children in Havering.

Being fortunate enough to be elected in May 2022 to represent the ward I live in, Beam Park, has been by turns enjoyable and rewarding, and an immense challenge. 

Taking the concerns of residents with me into the Town Hall, into committee meetings, and meetings with officers, has been both empowering and daunting.

And confronting the reality of our financial situation has been eye-opening. Sadly there are some in the chamber who think that there is always more to be done with less.

When the proposals to examine Havering’s Home to School Transport policy were announced last year, I was immediately concerned. I am not alone in having friends, let alone residents of my ward, using that service, and the last thing I and any other councillor wants is to see those people, already in difficult circumstances, inconvenienced further.

I and other Labour councillors encouraged residents to participate in the online consultation and many of them – though it could and should have been facilitated to be more – attended an in-person consultation too.

That is why I made the case alongside the rest of our Labour Group that it was so important that the issue was examined by the cross-party Scrutiny Committees, which can make recommendations to the Cabinet of the Council before decisions are taken. 

The Conservative motion, calling for no changes to a policy that had not been reviewed in years, was not good governance. It made no recognition of the financial obligations of the Council, not just to balance our books, but also to make sure that everything we do delivers value for money. 

And how do we make sure of that if we do not scrutinise, and review, so if needed, we can change?

I will promise to every single Beam Park resident that needs assistance in standing up for their children, that they can contact me, or my colleague Trevor Mckeever, and we will not turn our backs on them. Unlike some, we have not buried our heads in the sand regarding the difficulties faced by our residents or our Council.

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