THE Catholic Church in Scotland is warning families could face further bills after one of Scotland’s biggest councils announced it is considering changing the way it calculates entitlement to free school bus travel.

North Lanarkshire Council is planning to alter the minimum distance primary and secondary pupils travel before being entitled to the service, leaving them forced to pay for their tickets to school.

If the changes go ahead, parents could face a monthly bill of £34 for each child affected, rising to £64 per child if they are more than 16 years old. The council claims the move, which would affect more than 4,500 pupils, would save £2.4 million per year.

North Lanarkshire pupils are entitled to free school transport if they live more than two miles from their secondary school. Under the plans, that would increase to more than three miles.

With primary pupils, it would rise from more than one mile, to over two miles.

The Catholic Church’s Motherwell Diocese has described the proposals as “strangely out of step” with current thinking surrounding education and moves to enhance attainment of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

It added: “This decision will disproportionately disadvantage pupils attending Catholic schools.”

Mr Frank McNally, convener of education, said: “North Lanarkshire is one of the only a few local authorities that provide as generous a distance in relation to transport and, with the scale of the cuts expected, it is important that this is explored.”