RIBBLE Valley MP Nigel Evans has raised concerns over school transport in the borough with a government minister.

Mr Evans contacted David Laws MP, minister for schools, on Monday after residents raised concerns over Lancashire County Council’s funding policy for school transport.

Residents whose nearest school is St Augustine’s RC High School in Billington have been told that transport will only be funded if their children attend that school.

Mr Evans said: “St Augustine’s is a fantastic school and the leading Catholic high school in East Lancashire, but it is oversubscribed and parents who are only being offered funding for their children to attend there are going to be paying their council tax twice by having to pay to send their children to a different school.

“This is removing one of the most vital aspects in the improvement of our education system, that of parental choice.

“It is a long-held accepted principle that, in the main, children attend a school within their borough, but the new school transport funding structure being set by Lancashire County Council will penalise those living in the Ribble Valley local authority area, and particularly those in its southern wards.

“It should not be the case that parents are having any element of choice removed, unless they stump up extra hundreds of pounds a year to cover transport costs.”