by political editor Paul Francis

pfrancis@thekmgroup.co.uk

Parents are being consulted over controversial plans to scrap free transport for thousands of pupils.

The proposal affects those attending church or grammar schools, and is likely to trigger widespread opposition. It could cost parents as much as £400 a year to make up the costs currently subsidised by the education authority.

KCC says it has to take steps to rein in its home-to-school transport budget, which costs more than £14m a year for 19,000 pupils at mainstream schools.

From September 2012, KCC intends to end existing discretionary arrangements under which help with transport costs is offered to children who opt for either a selective or church school that is not their nearest.

The policy change could affect as many as one in four of the county’s secondary schools. There are 33 grammars and six Catholic secondary schools as well as one Church of England secondary.

Pupils who qualify for support already and will still be at school after 2012 will continue to get help.

Cllr Sarah Hohler (Con), KCC cabinet member for education, said:

"The need to save money in the public sector has prompted a radical re-think of what the council can do. Kent County Council has produced a budget to deliver £95m of savings this year and a further £65m next year throughout the authority. Part of these wider savings include a reduction in the school transport budget."

"We need to focus on our legal commitments and to look at what optional elements of transport we can afford to maintain in the current financial climate."

The shake-up has already come under fire from some suggesting it will adversely impact on parental choice with some unprepared to pay the additional costs.

KCC says the plans will not affect families who qualify for statutory help with school transport.

This includes help for pupils up to the age of eight where the nearest school is more than two miles away and help for eight-to-16-year-olds where the nearest appropriate school is more than three miles walking distance away.

• The consultation began this weekand runs until Friday 6 May. People can get in touch by logging on towww.kent.gov.uk/transportconsultation or by posting a response to: Home to School Transport Consultation, Room 2.35, Sessions House, Maidstone, ME14 1XQ.