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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think this is a good deal and we should take the money

191 replies

TastingTheRainbow · 23/08/2015 18:04

Been struggling to decide this all day so hoping you can help.

My son has special needs and will be starting at a special needs high school in September that's 35 miles away (40 minutes in no traffic).

He is entitled to travel assistance as this is the closest school that could accommodate him and we have not sent him so far away by choice, plus we are a low income family. We thought this would be via a taxi but have had a letter saying if we transport him ourselves the LA will pay us £6800 a year.

That seems an unbelievable amount of money! My quick sums have calculated that with that money we could buy a car (we would need a second car as I take the only one to work), insure it and keep it on the road, cover the petrol cost required for the journey and still have money left over. Plus we then have the convieneve of two cars full time which we really need just can't afford.

If we say no to the money they will organise a taxi. This will be more inflexible however and will pick up at a set time, only waiting for 2 minutes, and can't be changed if he has after school clubs etc. We would then need to collect anyway.

AIBU to think that while it will may be a PITA to do the school run that far every day the money they are offering makes it the better option?

In the interest of fairness I should say it would be my partner not me doing the school run as I work full time and she dosnt. I have said it is her choice to decide however, she just thinks I may be missing the 'catch' somehow.

OP posts:
grapejuicerocks · 23/08/2015 21:50

Oh I see the insurance makes it not viable. Such a shame as after the first year you'd easily be ok without the cost of buying the car.

Original poster
TastingTheRainbow · 23/08/2015 21:52

Surprised 45p a mile seems normal as they phrase this letter like it not only covers the travel cost but extras also. You can see they even make mention of it covering childcare for other children.

OP posts:
Original poster
TastingTheRainbow · 23/08/2015 21:53

Whoops didn't work

To think this is a good deal and we should take the money
OP posts:
DarthVadersTailor · 23/08/2015 21:54

OP would it be possible to take the money, maybe get a loan out for a few grand to buy a car that's likely to be more reliable and then pay off the loan using said monies? Simplistic idea maybe but possible? It would mean a commitment though, definitely more than 1yr....

Original poster
TastingTheRainbow · 23/08/2015 21:55

I know Grape that was my thought. After one year we will have the car and if she does it again it's all money for us to save and if she dosnt then we've still got the car she needs. I know fuel will be more because she will be using it day to day but she currently spends a small fortune on train / bus and taxi fares so we would save that.

OP posts:
Original poster
TastingTheRainbow · 23/08/2015 21:57

Darth- I had thought of that but don't think it's fair to commit DP to more than the one year when she hasn't done it to really know how much it will impact on her.

OP posts:
DarthVadersTailor · 23/08/2015 22:06

A good point Tasting. I can't say I envy the choices mate, both have their pitfalls. However a previous poster talked about haggling on the amount, I'd definitely try this avenue - you've nothing to lose and the LA will in all likelihood still be saving money.

Just thinking aloud (in reality don't know much about them, I'm sure someone else can advise on this) but would a lease car be a viable option rather than buying one? Would certainly take care of the reliability side of the car and not suffer the depreciation aspect either, though I don't know whether the money you'd get would cover that type of option?

Whatever you decide here's hoping it works out for the best!

beautifulgirls · 23/08/2015 22:15

DD1 has a taxi to and from SEN placement. The LA at first put her in a people carrier and the taxi firm shortly afterwards upgraded to a minibus. She was first on the pick up, last on the drop off each day and with bad traffic at times could spend 3-4 hours a day in the vehicle. Legally there is a maximum travel time and so we pushed the LA to change her service. She was however very upset with the change at first and it took her a good while to settle. She is now a lot more settled thankfully but just consider that not all taxis taking children in this manner will be plain sailing. Changes can happen at short notice so you need to consider how your DS will be with all of this too.

SzeliSecond · 23/08/2015 22:15

Not rtft so fon't know if this has been mentioned but could your DP enquire about lunchtime assistant roles at the school? or look for part time work near the school?

I work for a taxi company and that contract - minus chaperone, on a basic level would cost slightly more than £20k so the lea are saving a ton this way

Icimoi · 23/08/2015 22:17

Surprised 45p a mile seems normal as they phrase this letter like it not only covers the travel cost but extras also. You can see they even make mention of it covering childcare for other children.

I bet they do. If you've been in the SEN system for any length of time you will have learnt that, when it comes to anything that costs money, local authorities tell parents only as much of the truth as suits them. As you've discovered, the reality is that what they're offering won't even cover the costs of running the car. And you're stuffed if petrol costs whack up. As they certainly will.

dontrunwithscissors · 23/08/2015 22:27

Reading the last few posts...it seems the situation with regard to your LEA is far more complex than first appeared. I don't suppose you know of a support group locally or anyone who might have experience of dealing with the LEA? Somone who's been through the process and might be able to offer advice on whether the amount on offer might be open to discussion?

wafflyversatile · 23/08/2015 22:39

Call them and ask how they calculate it as @45p/mile it doesn't add up.

dotdotdotmustdash · 23/08/2015 22:43

If the child doesn't qualify for motability (Higher rate DLA) then maybe they could travel on public transport with your partner to escort? You could buy the £1k car, use it to drive to the nearest bus/train station (that has transport that goes closest to the school) and escort the child to school. Do they get a free public transport card and a free escort seat? My Ds does as he gets low rate DLA mobility.

Your partner could keep the excess money as compensation for her time and the car would be waiting at the bus/train station on her return.

Bumbledumb · 23/08/2015 22:46

Has your wife considered looking for work close to the school?

Vijac · 23/08/2015 22:49

Another advantage is that your partner will gain that extra two hours with your son.

Oldraver · 23/08/2015 22:49

If you buy a cheap car you will have to take into account that it may not be very fuel efficient... you will be doing 100 miles a day which could be between 3 (if you are lucky) or even four gallons of petrol a day..Ttha will really eat into your £35 per day

superram · 23/08/2015 22:56

I work for a la who offer 35p a mile and that is quite 'tight'. I think it is a good idea if your dh is happy to do it. It will save the la money but if it helps you too then surely win, win. They will reassess every year but you can ask to be assessed earlier if your circumstances change (dh gets a job).

Vijac · 23/08/2015 23:01

Is it worth asking if they ever give an upfront additional sum to go towards buying the car, not to be paid in subsequent years?

Tigger365 · 23/08/2015 23:15

Just on the car thing, my current car is over 10 years old (just), cost less than £1000 & does 450 miles on a £55 tank, and it does that every week.
Regular servicing keeps it going well.
No car will last well if you don't look after it.

Original poster
TastingTheRainbow · 23/08/2015 23:19

Superram - just curious what happens if we ask for a reassessment? Say we take it and it's not working out or DP does get a job etc. what will they actually do? I was under the impression if we took it we then have to take the responsibility for the full school year.

OP posts:
Icimoi · 23/08/2015 23:30

Here is some information about Inland Revenue mileage rates - as you can see, between 2003 and 2011 they were allowing 45p per mile, and obviously petrol and insurance costs have gone up since then. I don't know whether there's any more up to date guidance.

ShitHappens1 · 23/08/2015 23:31

I imagine if they're paying in instalments, they'd just not pay the next instalment.

AmeliaNeedsHelp · 23/08/2015 23:41

OP, when I said more than £1000 I wasn't meaning anything like £3000! I bought a 10yo diesel corsa to commute 50 miles each way to work. It had 75k on the clock and is still going strong at 125k. It cost £1650 upfront and about £300 per year in maintenance, it costs 12p per mile.

You said you could borrow money off family to buy the car initially - could you do that and pay the upfront cost off over the whole year, so you have some emergency savings for repairs? The vast majority of insurers will let you pay over the year - it costs a bit more but might be worth it.

If your DP is that desperate for a car and happy to do the driving it might be worth the risk.

cestlavielife · 23/08/2015 23:41

Depends on the sen. How well does he travel ? Is it likely to get stressful driving alone with ds ? Day in day out ? With the stress of having to arrive on time. Eg my son with sen can distract. Might throw his ipad. Might pee or poo. Etc. I wouldn't choose to drive alone with him four hours every day. Too stressful. He gets picked up at 8 for school bus run. After pick ups of others arrives school by 9. Far easier.ypur dp will lose a lot of time to driving and risks are increased stress etc.. Better to find a local job and fund a second car.

cestlavielife · 23/08/2015 23:44

I mean driving two hpurs as other journeys would be alone ...but still two longish journeys with ds and no one to help every day would be a no. Plus possibilities of traffic weather stress etc.

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