Conservative Councillor John McFadzean offered up a left-field suggestion as part of the discussion on East Ayrshire’s subsidised school transport scheme – cheap waterproof jackets.
Cllr McFadzean described coats of the type ‘you see all the people in New York wearing’.
He made the suggestion as East Ayrshire Council’s cabinet discussed the removal of subsidised school transport and the encouragement of active travel.
He said: “Obviously East Ayrshire is a big authority with big buying power. If we also looked into any possibility of obtaining very good lightweight rain proof jackets and bits and pieces that could be handy for walking to school.”
He said that they could be offered to pupils ‘at cost’.
However, he admitted that ‘fashion’ could impact on uptake.
He said: “I don’t know whether they would take it or not, people are so individual with fashion today, but we have plenty of rain at certain times so some of these sort of very lightweight, very long waterproof jackets you see all the people in New York wearing.
Education chief Linda Mcaulay-Griffiths responded: “From a primary school perspective, most offer a branded rain jacket but again in terms of keeping with the cost of living, we leave that choice with parents as to whether they opt for the branded piece.
“In respect of secondary, I think given the age and stage of pupils, they are much more likely to want to have their own thing.
“The schools could look at that if it was something that they wanted to but given the fashion conscious teenagers that we’ve got out there, whilst I think that the sentiment absolutely appropriate and we don’t want anyone getting wet on their walk to school, I think we aren’t probably going to go down that kind of route.”