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A COUNCIL leader believes his authority is 'preparing for the future' by changing the home-to-school transport scheme.

In July, Hampshire County Council made alterations to its home-to-school transport system, which gets 12,000 children to and from school each day, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The county council will instead ask more children to use pick-up and drop-off points, rather then being collected from their own homes, and put multiple children into a single vehicle.

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Campaigners from the Disability Union outside the Hampshire County Council office. Picture: David George

The move, which is set to save the council almost £1m, has been met with fierce opposition from campaigners, who say these changes are directly affecting the most vulnerable in society.

But leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Rob Humby, has insisted that the authority is doing the right thing.

He said: 'I understand the concerns of parents but where there are students that can go to a collection point and it's appropriate to do so, we can reduce the number of vehicles that will be used.

'This is about becoming more efficient and preparing for the future.

'The number of people relying on home-to-school transport will continue to increase in the coming years - we want to create a service that is sustainable in the long term.'

Hampshire children still waiting on home-to-school transport arrangements for September