The SNP put out a statement saying that the administration were likely to vote this Thursday at Education to keep the current ‘generous arrangements’ in place till 2013.
Fife Labour leader Alex Rowley responded saying Labour in Fife will oppose any move to reduce the current school transport provision in Fife whether this year or any future year.
Mr Rowley said; “When the SNP first mooted the idea of reviewing the distance for school children to travel free we made clear we would fight tooth and nail any attempt to reduce the distance from that in place. I note that the SNP now seem to have seen sense having announced today they will keep the existing criteria in place till 2013”.
“They describe it as Fife’s ‘generous transport’ criteria, but we should be clear, Labour introduced this criteria many years ago not out of generosity but from the necessity of keeping our children safe. That same principle applies today and rather than patting themselves on the back for keeping in place the existing scheme for now, they need to join with us making clear that we will never cut these services to save money at the expense of children’s safety. It is not a matter of being generous, it is about doing what is right”.
