My Council wants to axe the buses that take disabled teens to school and college- please help!

[BitOfFun]

We parents have set up a petition to let people know what they're up to and ask them to reconsider. These cuts will have a DEVASTATING impact on the kids who use this service.

The link asks that you be a Sefton resident, but it actually isn't essential: after all, we all know families and friends (me, for a start ) who will be affected if these cuts go ahead. And once one council gets away with it, you can be sure others will follow. Conversely, if one group of parents can show that we won't go down without a fight, it makes it harder for councils in other boroughs to attack similar services.

Please please sign and share on social media if possible.

thanks

I've been an escort for transporting youngsters with special needs and seen how both they and staff are treated by councils. Compassion and sympathy do not even enter the equation. Rules are broken, ie a young person must not be travelling for longer than an hour. Vans with more than eight youngsters with severe disabilities require more than one escort - none of these are adhered to in the name of cut backs.

I have had the pleasure of escorting many young people with differing disabilities - either mental, physical or behavioural - and I say 'pleasure' because I saw all of them progress, learn confidence, and achieve. One young man with severe cerebral palsy which prevented him from walking, achieved A Levels and has now acquired work in his desired subject. However, seeing his parents (non-drivers) now struggle to transport him and the costs involved in this, I really do recognise the unfairness of this. We must not allow the vulnerable to suffer in this way. It's totally immoral and needs highlighting. Councils / governments spend millions in glossy advertising, employing consultants etc, money wasted in duplication across departments, etc. No special needs youngster should be deprived of anything at all, especially means to an education according to their needs. It's a basic right and I stand behind the OP in pushing this campaign forward.

Tweeted as well. It's very important. And having seen a MNer's local campaign gain real traction (and actually achieve its aim ) thanks to MNers' support, I'm hopeful we can make a difference to this one too.

OP - the bit you copied and pasted from the 'anything else' question was really eloquent. Could you send something along those lines into your local newspapers, radio and tv - maybe following up with a phone call to see if they would use it as the basis of an article? Locally all the papers are on twitter, as are the journalists and it's a great way to make contact with them.

Are the company that have done the questionnaire a member of any regulatory body that you could complain to? Likewise is there a local government complaints organisation (along the lines of ofsted) that you could report them to for creating such a badly biased survey? Asking your mp to raise it as an issue?

There's also some people on twitter who are interested in data, surveys and when they are done badly, and the consequences beyond. Dr Ben Goldacre (@bengoldacre) is one that springs to mind - maybe tweeting him to see if he would retweet to all his followers could help. Or indeed tweeting to your council.

Good luck!

These replies are so useful- I really appreciate them, thank you. Some great ideas.

I would certainly be very interested to see what an expert on research methods made of the 'consultation'. The leading nature of the questions were utterly shocking and could not possibly have allowed the council to collect valid data in support of the changes (which means they're shooting themselves in the foot really).

I'm being stupid, aren't I? They don't care about what the data says, it's just a tickbox so they can say they've done it.

Yes. I think it can be legally challenged for its sheer slimy deceptiveness though.