The Catholic community has a real concern that no Catholic child should be denied the opportunity of a Catholic education solely because his or her parents are unable to afford the transport costs involved in choosing such education.

It has been recognised since the debate on the 1944 Education Act that voluntary aided schools will in many instances have a natural catchment area of much larger size than community schools. This is reflected in the provisions of the Education Act 1944. It was further stated during such debate that the whole purpose of Section 55 is to enable children belonging to a particular denomination to be able to attend a school of that denomination. The right of parents to choose the nature of the education received by their children has been incorporated in numerous provisions.

S.76 of the Education Act 1944 (as replicated in Section 9 of the Education Act 1996) provides that:
In exercising or performing all their respective powers and duties under the Education Acts, the Secretary of State, local education authorities and the funding authorities shall have regard to the general principle that pupils are to be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents, so far as that is compatible with the provision of efficient instruction and training and the awareness of unreasonable public expenditure.

The UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child states:
Principle 7
The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory, at least in the elementary stages. He shall be given an education which will promote his general culture and enable him on a basis of equal opportunity, to develop his abilities, his individual judgement, and his sense of moral and social responsibility, and to become a useful member of society. The best interests of the child shall be the guiding principle of those responsible for his education and guidance; that responsibility lies in the first place with his parents.

The European Convention of Human Rights as incorporated in The Human Rights Act 1998 states:
FIRST PROTOCOL
Article 2
No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.

These instruments outline the concept that parents are foremost educators of their children and that the state should be a facilitator to ensure that all children as far as practicable can be educated in accordance with their parents' religious and philosophical convictions.

The concerns and reservations of the Catholic sector are that the proposed removal of denominational transport provision places at risk the whole concept of parents being in a position to educate their children according to their beliefs and wishes and may need to substitute financial considerations and constraints for fundamental beliefs and convictions.

Our objections to the budget proposal to remove denominational transport are based on the above foundation and can be characterised as follows:

1. Catholic schools were set up in partnership with Local Authorities as part of their provision to serve a particular community. The removal of free transport destroys this partnership arrangement and the historical tradition on which it was based.
2. There is a current assumption that Catholic children in Catholic primary schools will feed through to the appropriate Catholic secondary school. This will often be some distance away, given that there are only 3 Catholic secondary schools in Nottinghamshire. If denominational transport provision is removed parents may not be able to afford to pay for transport and this will affect both the Diocesan provision and the local provision. It clearly will affect the choices that parents make who are not able to fund the transport costs which could be substantial if several children are involved.
3. Catholic parents currently have to fund 10% of the capital costs of Catholic schools. In other words, Catholic schools already cost Catholic parents money, money which they are glad to contribute in order to ensure a Catholic education. If denominational transport were removed this would be an extra financial burden on Catholic families - a burden that other families living more than two or three miles from their appropriate primary or secondary schools would not have to find. It could be argues that Catholic parents will be charged twice for a right enshrined in the 1944 Education Act and supported by the partnership in school provision between the Local Authority and the Diocese.

There are other valid arguments that have relevance also:

1. If bus transport is removed the most likely outcome is a great increase in car transport. In other words, the environmental implications of this budget reduction need to be considered carefully. The Local Authority has its own targets to reach here and the current transport provision contributes to these. There are also possible ramifications based on the Children's Act and safety.
2. There is strong evidence from OFSTED and other sources that Catholic schools' success is built on the prevailing ethos, which is centred on the teachings of the Catholic Church and shared by the children and parents of the school community. If the nature of that community changes as a result of financial pressures then the nature of the ethos will change also with corresponding affects on performance and achievement.
3. The inevitable outcome of the removal of denominational transport will be a reduction in parental choice and, in the long-term, a possible reduction in the diversity of educational provision within the Local Authority. This runs contrary to the current government thinking as expressed in the Education Act 2005.