A consultation is underway reviewing travel arrangements for young people aged 16-18 in training or education.

People are invited to submit their views to Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) who say they want to fund school/college transport at the right level, whilst supporting those in most need and developing young people’s resilience and ability to travel independently.

The consultation affects students in full-time education and training aged between 16 and 18 and aged up to 19 and beyond 19 if they are continuing on a course started before the age of 19, which also includes learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

Five proposals are being put forward as part of the consultation, which are based on the council’s pledge to support families on low incomes who need most assistance, particularly those without an alternative funding source.

Justin Donovan, director of education and early intervention, said: “There remains an ongoing pressure on the county council to reduce its spending.

“We want to ensure that we provide the right level of travel support to those young people who are most in need, so that they can continue to participate in full-time education and training.

“We are therefore consulting on a set of 16-18 proposals. Feedback from the consultation will be considered by the Enterprise, Education & Skills Panel in the autumn. The panel will make recommendations to Cabinet, who will determine the future 16-18 transport policy at their meeting on 13 October 2014. Following this decision, it is expected that a new policy will be published, for implementation from September 2015.”

Parents, carers, young people and schools/colleges of further education are also being encouraged to respond to the consultation so that decisions are made based on the needs and opinions of the people affected.

The consultation runs from April 22 to July 21.

For further information, please visit www.hertsdirect.org/consultations