FAMILIES of severely disabled teenagers across the Herald area have expressed their relief after Hampshire County Council reversed its decision to deny them transport to and from college.

A group of families – including some from Bordon, Liss and Farnham – had engaged specialists in the Public Law and Human Rights team at Irwin Mitchell solicitors to fight their case.

The council had told them their children – whose disabilities mean they are unable to use public transport – would need to attend college to get educational support.

They were provided with council transport in 2018/19 and a consultation suggested this would continue in 2019/20. But from June onwards a large number of them received letters refusing their applications.

Irwin Mitchell wrote to the council in July to outline the families’ concerns and threatened to launch legal action to fight the policy, claiming there was a failure to lawfully consult on it and it amounted to a breach of the Equality Act and human rights law.

The council has now confirmed it will withdraw its policy and review all refusals to provide post-16 students with transport to and from college.

Irwin Mitchell was instructed by ten families and contacted by more than 20 others, but it is estimated around 300 students will benefit from the change of heart.

Alice Cullingworth, the specialist public lawyer at Irwin Mitchell’s Southampton office who is representing the families, said: “This has been a very emotional time for the families we represent, as they simply want to ensure their children can get access to the education they need and deserve.

“The parents we act for are unable to provide transport because of work and other commitments and they were very upset at the prospect of this issue impacting on their children’s wellbeing.

“While we recognise local government across the UK is facing difficult times at the moment, it is welcome to see the council has changed its position and reconsidered its post-16 transport policy.

“It is absolutely vital vulnerable students are able to access the support they need to get the best from life.”

One student to benefit is a 16-year-old boy who lives with his parents but has autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and a learning disability. With minimal awareness of road danger, it is not safe for him to use public transport.

He is due to start a four-year course in September at a college some distance from home, but his parents could not drive him there as they have to take his nine-year-old sister to school and both work.

His mother could not change her hours, so would have had to quit her job to transport him and been unable to pay her mortgage.

She said: “Going to college is so important to my son and we were devastated when we were told no transport support would be provided. It just threw us into a world of doubt and concern as to how we would ultimately get him there.

“News of this U-turn has been a huge relief and means we are all looking more positively to the coming months.”