Falkirk Council’s proposal to cut free transport for Falkirk pupils attending Gaelic schools in other local authorities was not heard at today’s executive meeting as had been expected.
Chief executive Kenneth Lawrie told members of the executive the report had been withdrawn as he had been contacted earlier in the week by Bòrd na Gàidhlig, “requesting an opportunity to meet and discuss the proposals”.
Bòrd na Gàidhlig is the statutory body responsible for promoting Gaelic development.
Read more: Controversial Falkirk greenbelt housing plan gets green light
Mr Lawrie said that as it had not been possible to arrange a meeting ahead of today’s executive he had made the decision to delay to allow the discussion to take place.
The withdrawn report proposed removing free transport for all future pupils as well as all current secondary pupils who have been in Gaelic Medium Education (GME) since primary one.
Independent councillor Laura Murtagh, had intended to challenge the proposal, as she felt the impact on pupils who have been educated since Primary 1 at Gaelic Medium Education (GME) schools has not been considered as no consultation was done with either parents or pupils.
“This is not about Gaelic – this is about children,” she said.
“It’s about the impact on their futures- that’s what we should be considering!”
If the proposal is accepted, from August taxis will no longer be provided to take pupils to either Greenfaulds High School in Cumbernauld or Wallace High in Stirling.
Those who are currently at primary school will continue to get transport until they finish primary seven but no new pupils will be eligible and all secondary age pupils will lose their transport.
Some of the pupils who would be affected if Falkirk Council agrees the budget cut were expecting to start their final year in GME (Gaelic medium education) in August.
While the report suggests pupils can use their under-22 bus passes, some parents say the journey to Greenfaulds High School will take nearly two hours as there is no direct service bus.
The parents of two pupils – one of whom was due to start sixth year in August – say their options are either moving house or asking their children to move to a school with a completely different curriculum, away from all their friends and familiar surroundings.
Cllr Murtagh believes this is in clear breach of children’s rights legislation, UNCRC, which was recently incorporated in Scot’s law.
She said: “Children were given the impression under our Gaelic plan that they would be able to continue their education and have free transport until they finished.
“It’s clear that the impact assessment in the report does not consider the impact on those children because they have not been asked.”
The report to Falkirk Council’s executive says the council is spending £4368 on taxis each year per child and this is now unaffordable.
But Cllr Murtagh wants to see much more details on the financial impact, given that it costs the local authority, on average, £6,577 for primary and £8,182 for each secondary school pupil being educated in Falkirk.
As Falkirk makes no financial contribution to either Stirling Council or North Lanarkshire Council for the education provided, Cllr Murtagh says the cost of several pupils moving back to Falkirk to be educated should be clearer.
She also criticised the report for making no mention of the Scottish Languages Bill currently going through Holyrood, which will give equal protection and status to Gaelic and Scots.
Mr Lawrie said the report will be updated to reflect the meeting.
For more Falkirk stories sign up to our newsletter here.