A cost-cutting plan to change how transport to school is paid for looks set to be rubber-stamped by Council bosses.

The changes would see parents having to pay for their child’s transport if they didn’t opt to take a place at their nearest available school.

Education bosses at Bradford Council hope the new rules will mean fewer parents will send their child to a school miles away from their home.

Currently the Council offers discretionary free travel to a pupil whose closest school is over three miles away and who goes to a school further away.

But public sector funding cuts mean the Council is having to prioritise the services it must provide by law.

Councillor Ralph Berry, Bradford Council’s executive member for Children’s Services, said: “The vast majority of parents won’t be affected. It’s those parents who choose to send their child to a school that’s further away. In the past, we have funded that on a discretionary basis.”

The new system would only apply to new pupils starting at school from September 2014. Children going to faith schools, or children under 16 with special educational needs, won’t be affected.

Post-16 students with special needs will be given an allowance to help them buy transport and a travel training assessment, in a bid to encourage them onto public transport.

Coun Berry said: “It’s moving these young people towards a more independent life, moving towards giving choices rather than having a Big Brother approach where we say, ‘This is how it is done.’ “Firstly, we are allowing families to collaborate. Families tend to know each other and form links with each other. This is a more family-friendly, co-operative approach.

“One of the complaints I get from Adult Services is about people who get to 19 or 20 and don’t have enough experience of public transport.

“This way of preparing people to use public transport wherever possible, firstly that is sustainable, and secondly it gives them skills to lead the most successful life.”

An 11-week consultation into the plans ran from November to January, and Paul Makin, Bradford Council’s assistant director for education, said there were few objections.

He said: “We had quite a significant number of people looking at the website, over 1,000, so there was a high degree of interest. But when we came to the consultation responses, we had quite a low response level, so we believe there is quite high contentment about what we are trying to do. We are trying to give more choice to people.”

The plan is set to go in front of Bradford Council’s Executive at a meeting on Tuesday, April 16.