Children could find themselves walking up to five miles to get to school if the leader of Warwickshire County Council's (WCC) bid to change transport to school plans goes through.

Cllr George Finch has written to the Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson asking for permission to increase the current statutory limit before children are eligible for support.

The Reform UK councillor says this would help the council cut a huge annual bill for its home to school transport which currently helps 10,000 kids get to school every day.

Recent numbers from the local authority showed the costs of this service have risen from £17.9 million in 2018/19 to £50 million this year, with the leader saying "our hands are tied" when trying to reduce the spend.

WCC is currently reviewing its policies to cut this by ensuring "that our focus is solely on those with statutory entitlement to transport".

"Despite the various steps we are proactively taking to seek to improve efficiencies and minimise costs for the delivery of these services, we anticipate that these costs will rise to around £80 million over the next five years," Cllr Finch wrote. 

"Such cost increases inevitably put pressure on the council's budget, with potential impacts on the wider delivery of services undertaken by the authority."

Currently children over eight are eligible for free travel to their nearest suitable school if they have to walk over three miles, and two miles for those younger.

Cllr Finch claimed increasing this by one mile would reduce the number of eligible children by eight per cent (800 children), or by 16 per cent if it was increased by two miles (1,600).

A change to the statutory minimum would force parents to sort transport themselves if their children were no longer eligible for support.

"Every area is different and the distances that pupils must travel to access education settings can vary significantly throughout the country," he continued. 

"The rural nature of county councils must be recognised and understood within the context of this guidance. 

"I would therefore like to formally request that local authorities are given the power to have delegated authority to change these statutory eligible walking distances where it makes sense to do so in a local area. 

"This would provide local authorities with another vital tool to tackle the challenges faced by rising costs of provision, based on local circumstances."

Cllr Finch also said public consultations would be held before there was any change.

Possible changes to home to school transport have been criticised by opposition Liberal Democrat councillors

"Parents and carers will be horrified by the dangerous prospect of their children having to walk such huge distances to and from school each day,' said Cllr Jerry Roodhouse, Lib Dem leader at WCC. 

"In many parts of Warwickshire the routes to school do not have a lit pavement over the distances proposed and, if our children and grandchildren have to carry school bags, sports kit and musical instruments over the proposed distances, they're much more likely to arrive at school too tired to learn.

"For the Conservative-backed Reform UK leadership to make this proposal at a time when many Warwickshire parents are discussing with their children their choice of primary and secondary school for September 2026 shows how out of touch they are with the reality of family life."