FAMILIES will face big increases in school travel costs if councillors approve a series of spending cuts next week.

Hertfordshire County Council, which says it needs to save some £214 million over the next four years, announced last year that it was re-examining the £25 million a year it currently spends on getting children to and from schools.

Members of the council’s ruling Conservative administration, who will meet on Monday, are likely to agree an end to all discretionary school transport spending – stripping back public spending to meet only minimum legal requirements by September 2012.

Free transport will be limited only to children attending their nearest school, children from poorer families and those with disabilities and special needs.

Special dispensation for children attending faith schools will also be cut and the cost of discount travel cards – allowing children half-price fares on commercial routes – will double from £10 to £20 per year.

Critics, many of whom argued their case strongly in a recent 13 week public consultation, suggest that the charges will unfairly penalise large families and, in many cases, increase the cost of school travel by more than a third.

The council, however, says it has been left with no choice.

Councillor Richard Thake, responsible for education, said: “We understand the impact that this is going to have on families.

“In an ideal world we would be providing a free transport service to all children going to school because it is without doubt the best way of doing things – but we can’t afford it.

“It is also important to say that we are not just wiping our hands of this. We are working very hard with a range of partners, from schools to religious groups, to try to put new idea forward.”

Councillor Ron Tindall, Liberal Democrat education spokesman, agreed to the necessity of the cuts but said their impact might not be as severe as many people are expecting.

Changes to the way the Government funds schools, he explained, would see more money flowing directly to headteachers – money they will be encouraged to spend on providing transport for their own pupils.

He said: “This is going to save about £6 million, and ultimately the real question is that if we were not saving that money here then where would be saving it in the future – what should be cut instead?

Green Party councillor Ian Brandon, however, argued that the changes would inevitably lead to more traffic on the county’s roads – as large numbers of children are effectively forced to attend schools outside of the council’s three and two mile distance criteria.