A Police Perspective

I had a reply from Scott Blain, Community Police Dept. of Strathclyde Police to the letter I sent regarding the Council's decision. This is what he had to say:

We are aware of E.R.C's plans for school bus services and whilst sympathetic it should be emphasized that Police are regularly inundated with complaints from parents,local residents and school staff about dangerous and irresponsible parking in the vicinity of schools.

I agree that the proposals from E.R.C have the potential to make the situation worse, however, we are seeking the cooperation of parents when dropping children off. This will no doubt cause some inconvenience but it is important that drivers ensure that when dropping children off, vehicles are parked/stopped responsibly.

Getting Children to School Safely

It is up to parents to make sure that their children are delivered safely to school.

The decision to impose the statutory limitation to the free bus service limits and in many cases removes the choice of how parents can fulfill this.

Many parents want to avoid taking cars so that the critical congestion problem is not made worse. This becomes impossible economically for many as the only alternative is the bus service. Many would walk if road patrols over busy roads were in place. But sadly these have not been provided.

Parents want to deliver children safely to school and take this responsibility very seriously. But they are not being given a choice.

The new stated Transport Policy of the Council aims to encourage (among other things):

• The use of more environmentally friendly methods of transport such as walking, cycling and using buses.
• Reduce road congestion
• Increase safety on the roads

For many parents without a choice the effects of this decision will work against all of these goals.

How They Voted

As promised here is a list of how each Councillor voted, their ward and which party they are a member of. (This information was verified from the February Edition of the East Renfrewshire Council Meeting Minutes available here (page 2696) or from any of the local libraries).

The Council voted for a number of cuts as a package. The withdrawal of the free bus service to those between 1 and 2 miles of schools was one of these.

To summarise:

• There was a total of 11 FOR the cut package and 7 AGAINST the cut package. There was 2 abstentions.
• All those FOR the cut package belong to Labour, Labour & Co-operative or the Liberal Democrat Party.
• All those who voted AGAINST the cut package belong to the Conservative Party.
• The abstentions were the independent members.

Here is the way they voted in detail. Listed is the Councillor name, ward and party. Click on the Councillor name to send them an email.

Councillors who voted FOR the cut package:

Provost Cunningham, Barrhead East, Labour
Cllr Collins, Liboside, Labour
Cllr Fletcher, Thornliebank, Labour
Cllr Garscadden, Barrhead North, Labour
Cllr Lafferty, Busby, Labour & Co-operative
Cllr Mackie, Giffnock North, Lib. Dem.
Cllr Montague, Stamperland, Labour & Co-operative
Cllr Napier, Eaglesham, Lib. Dem.
Cllr Phillips, Auchenback, Labour
Cllr Steele, Merrylea Park, Lib. Dem.
Cllr Taylor, Barrhead Central, Labour

Councillors AGAINST the cut package:

Deputy Provost Shaw, Giffnock South, Conservative
Cllr Drysdale, Kirkhill, Conservative
Cllr Gilbert, Greenfarm, Conservative
Cllr Grant, Broom, Conservative
Cllr Hutchison, Mearns, Conservative
Cllr McGee, Clarkston, Conservative
Cllr Rosin, Crookfur, Conservative

Abstentions:
Cllr Devlin, Neilston West Arthurlie, Independent
Cllr Pearce, Netherlee, Independent

Draw your own conclusions.

BBC Cover Save Our Buses Campaign

Following the demonstration at the Council Offices the BBC have published this article on their website:

Parents Fight School Bus Payments

Well done all!

Council Meeting Wed May 3rd

There is to be a Council Meeting on Wednesday the 3rd of May at Eastwood Park in the building immediately to your right as you enter the park at 7:00pm. We are asking as many parents as possible to attend to show the strength of feeling about this cut. Let's show them how we feel!