Council to deny 'non-believers' at faith schools free bus passes unless pupils can 'prove their religion'

Flintshire Council will demand note from priest or baptism certificate

Says plans will save £100,000 and is 'fair, equitable and sustainable'

Parents blast move as 'discrimination' against non-faith children

Catholic priest describes policy as 'exclusive'



Children who cannot prove their religious faith will be denied free bus travel by a council in North Wales.

Flintshire Council will demand evidence from pupils such as a note from a Catholic priest or a baptism certificate to qualify for free transport to a faith school, if it is not their nearest.

The plans, thought to be the first of their kind in the country, have been blasted by parents as 'discrimination'.

Children who cannot prove their faith will not be eligible for free travel under plans by Flintshire Council (file photo).

Under pressure to save money due to government funding cuts, the authority has defended the move as 'fair, equitable and sustainable transport policy' and say it will save up to £100,000 a year.

Other councils across the country have decided to scrap free travel to faith school entirely.

But in Flintshire the council has decided to single out only pupils who are at a faith school but whose admission 'is not based on faith grounds'.

One worried mother said she feared her 10-year-old daughter would not be able to join her older sister at St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School, in Flint.

'I would not be able to afford to pay for the bus every day, so it could end up with my daughters going to different high schools, which isn't ideal,' said the mother, whose children both went to a faith primary school.

'My children have not been christened, through my choice not theirs, but the school faith is all they have ever known.

'Just because a child has a baptism certificate it does not mean they are any more active believers than those who haven't.

'It is prejudiced to ask parents of non-baptised children to pay for their transport.'

Some parents whose pupils attend St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School in Flint have blasted the plans as 'discrimination'

Canon Joe Stuart of Connah's Quay Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church said his faith was about being inclusive.

'Education in this country is free. You can't penalise people according to their faith by imposing a financial penalty if they have been accepted to the faith school but don't share the belief. This is being exclusive.'

Should the plans get the green light, schools affected would include St Richard Gwyn Catholic High School in Flint, St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Flint and St David's RC Primary School in Mold.

It is not known how many non-religious pupils attend faith schools, but of the 2009 year seven admissions to St Richard Gwyn, more than half came from non-Catholic primary schools.

A consultation, which runs until April 12, says under the new transport police free transport will 'no longer be provided for pupils whose admission is not based on faith grounds.'

The measures would affect new admissions from September, 2014.

A council statement said: 'Like all councils, Flintshire County Council is under considerable pressure to make savings on its public spending.

'As a result, the council has had to look at every aspect of its work, especially where it is not compulsory for us to provide services and to consider how they can be delivered more efficiently.'



The policy review on the council's website states: 'The proposed changes are intended to produce a fair, equitable and sustainable transport policy.

'A public consultation is being carried out on two discretionary aspects of the policy, namely post-16 transport and transport to denominational schools.

'The council is proposing that for new admissions from September 2014, free transport to denominational (faith) schools is no longer provided for pupils whose admission is not based on faith grounds.