Judith has welcomed the announcement that plans to cut school bus services to two Bradford schools have been temporarily scrapped, calling it an ‘important first step’ – but has warned that a permanent solution to keep these vital school buses must still be found.
Today, Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority announced that an agreement has been reached to continue funding school buses to St Bede's St Joseph’s Catholic College and Bingley Grammar until at least the summer of 2026.
Last year, Bradford Council announced bombshell proposals to cut the twelve bus services serving the schools would have affected the almost 900 students that rely on these services to get to and from school every day.
Speaking at the time, Judith called the plans ‘disjointed, inconsistent and ill-thought through’ warning that ‘there would be unintended consequences of removing these bus services that risk destabilising the school system and would threaten the future viability of SBSJ entirely.’
A petition calling for the plan to be axed was signed by over 1800 people and presented to and debated at a meeting of the Council.
And, in December, Judith convened a meeting that brought the leader of Bradford Council, representatives of SBSJ and the Catholic Academy Trust that established a ‘clear consensus on the need to work together to find a way forward’.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Judith said:
“Today’s announcement is a positive first step.”
“I am pleased that Bradford Council have listened to the voices of parents and pupils and have rethought their decision to cut school these vital school bus services and fund them for the next academic year.”
“While I applaud the good sense shown by Bradford Council and WYCA on this decision, a permanent solution to keep these buses going must still be found.”
“I will continue working with everyone involved. The council, schools and parents, the diocese and WYCA must continue to work together to come up with a viable long-term solution to make sure students in my constituency and across Bradford can continue to get to school safely and on time.”
I am looking forward to visiting SBSJ in the coming weeks to celebrate this decision and to continue these important discussions. Catholic education in Bradford depends on good school bus services”
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