Education chiefs are looking to axe the blanket provision of free transport for all Inverclyde children attending additional support needs schools - sparking a furious response from parents.
In a report, Inverclyde Council's Director of Education Ruth Binks blames the rising cost of transport which has more than doubled in the last five years to £1.6million and the 'significant' pressure on the budgets as a result.
From August 2026 the local authority is proposing those living within a mile of primary and two miles of secondary, including Craigmarloch, will be allocated on a needs-based assessment, set to impact nearly 100 families initially.
But parents of campaign group Play4Some accused the council of an 'attack' on all ASN families and warn it will have a massive impact if it is given the go-ahead.
They are now calling for an ASN parent representative to be given a place on the education committee to give them a voice when decisions are made.
Outraged campaigner Veronica Edgely said: "This is an absolute disgrace. For a start it would lead to chaos at Craigmarloch if there were parents dropping off and picking up.
"There are so many things to think about, parents would struggle if they had other children to get to school.
"It would be dangerous. There is no room as it is, the school is at capacity.
"It is penalising parents for something that they have no control over.
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"Maybe they should look at saving money on improvement and inclusion officers and those on big salaries and ask parents what is needed. I could tell them for free.
"They talk about the ASN budgets. We need more staff on the ground working in schools. This is not going to work. It shows why we need a parent on the education committee.
"We have no one speaking up for us."
Veronica and her husband Colin, who live in Wemyss Bay, have a 10-year-old son Brendan who attends Craigmarloch and earlier this year they started a campaign along with other parents for equal access to free playschemes.
They set up a group Play4Some as part of their campaign to get access to the free Play 4 All summer schemes.
Veronica added: "They did start to listen to us and they did improve on the provision. But only because we had to fight for it. We have to fight for everything.
"I am also concerned about the consultation. I was promised in a meeting that we would be consulted but we never do."
The proposals are part of a wider review by the council into ASN pupil transport which also looks at reducing costs by purchasing their own buses.
As it stands free transport regardless of need is provided to all pupils with additional needs who attended Craigmarloch, as well as ASN pupils going to Hillend Children’s Centre, Lomond View Academy, within the communication settings, including All Saints and also in mainstream.
The service also provides free transport for children and young people who require transport to meet a short-term need, all funded from the ASN transport budget.
In the reports the director says that while the demand has stayed largely the same, transport costs have rocketed from £735,000 in 20/21, to a projected £1.6m next year.
Emergency powers are to be used to allocate £200,000 from Scottish Government ASN funding to try to plug a £650,000 over spend in this year's budget.
It is expected that based on this year's school roll of 345 children in ASN education, around 97 children would be assessed based on need as a result of the changes.
Council officers argue that the proposal, if agreed, would not remove transport for every pupil based on distance but would look at the types of assessment currently used in other authorities to allocate places for pupils living within accessible distance of their provision.
At the education committee today (Tuesday) there are three different reports looking at ASN funding, including a proposal for a consultation with parents, staff and head teachers on the review.
Members will be asked to agree to a consultation on the changes to transport as well and to agree to a pilot looking at purchasing four inhouse buses to increase internal transport.
In response to concerns an Inverclyde Council spokesperson said: “No final decision has been made regarding changing school transport for pupils with additional support needs (ASN).
"Our Education and Communities Committee will be asked to approve a consultation process so we can listen to the views of parents.
“If approved, the consultation will be available for parents who are affected to contribute their feedback and have their say on the options available.”
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