A SENIOR Labour councillor has said he doesn’t accept parents won’t be able to afford to send their children to school when free transport is axed.

Abergavenny councillor Martyn Groucutt, who recalled how he used to ride a bike to school as a child, said his parents accepted they had a “responsibility” to get their children to school.

Free home to school transport is set to be withdrawn in Monmouthshire this year for children who currently live more than 1.5 miles from their nearest, or most suitable, primary and two miles from secondary school.

Free bus passes will only be provided in line with the Welsh Government’s statutory distances of two miles or more from primary and three miles from a secondary school from September 2025.

Monmouthshire expects to save around £700,000 from its £7 million home to school transport bill and some 300 children could be impacted.

Speaking at last week’s budget meeting, Cllr Groucutt, Monmouthshire council’s cabinet member for education and a retired headteacher and former education officer told the council: “I think my parents realised that along with having children there was a responsibility to get them to school.

“It is a difficult one but surely £7m a year in a small county like Monmouthshire is unsustainable and I do not buy the argument that there is so much poverty in Monmouthshire that it is an actual physical thing that stops children getting to school.”

Later in the meeting Cllr Groucutt cited the example of Malta where all buses are free, admitting: “I would rather everyone went to school for free I guess,”.