The County Council is running a public consultation to understand people’s views across Hampshire on options to change and reduce some local services as part of steps to help the Authority address a remaining budget shortfall of at least £97.6 million for 2025/26.
The Future Services Consultation – Spring 2025 runs from today, 12 March to 7 May 2025, and signals the next stage in the County Council’s plans to ensure it can focus support to the most vulnerable people in Hampshire while meeting its legal duty to deliver a balanced budget.
The options within the consultation which may be of particular interest to you / your organisation include:
Post-16 Transport only:
- To focus the Council’s resources on those most in need, by amending the eligibility criteria for Post-16 transport assistance so that the County Council would only assist with travel for Post-16 students with special educational needs or a disability, and who are from a low-income family.
- To make Post-16 Transport provision more sustainable in the long-term by requiring all families of students who receive County Council-provided Post-16 transport assistance to contribute to the costs of transport for their child.
- To support SEND students to develop their independent travel skills by introducing mandatory Independent Travel Training (ITT) for some Post-16 students.
- To make Post-16 Transport provision more sustainable in the long-term by requiring parents/carers/responsible adults to act as a Passenger Assistant where it is reasonable for them to do so.
School Transport and Post-16 Transport:
- To reduce the number of unused seats by utilising bus pass usage data.
- To increase flexibility to meet short-term variations in demand by using the full licensed capacity of buses.
- To make discretionary transport more viable by asking parents to increase their financial contribution towards the cost of the transport.
- To promote the most independent forms of transport assistance by prioritising a Public Transport Season Ticket or Personal Transport Budget over contracted transport, where this is appropriate and more cost effective.
Views can be provided on some or all of the four service change proposals presented in the consultation.
Feedback can be provided online via the consultation webpage: www.hants.gov.uk/future-services-consultation
