MONMOUTHSHIRE councillors voted to amend the authority’s transport policy for children with special educational needs yesterday after some students experienced major problems at the start of the current school year.

A motion tabled by the authority’s Labour group leader Cllr Dimitri Batrouni was passed unanimously although he was attacked by Conservative members for politicising the issue.

In September, 32 students between 16 and 19-years-old across the county with SENs saw council-provided transport to their colleges discontinued just before the start of the school year.

Some of those have since had theirs reinstated.

Cllr Batrouni said: “[One family told me: ‘Anyone who rejects the proposals doesn’t have a heart.’”

Only 18 of 50 students’ applications made in the summer were successful.

As part of the motion, parents will be informed of the council’s decision on whether transport is granted to their children earlier than the mere days they had in the run-up to this academic year.

And the authority now officially recognises that young people with a mental disability also have a medical need and should be treated the same way as young people with a physical disability.

Cabinet member for children and young people Cllr Liz Hacket Pain said she supported the motion, claiming much of what was proposed was already council policy.

But she said it is important for the council to work with further education colleges, who should pay some of the way for their students’ transport.

Fellow cabinet member Cllr Giles Howard and council leader Cllr Peter Fox attacked Cllr Batrouni telling the Argus earlier this week that the council’s policy was, among other things, “uncaring, incompetent and complacent”.

Cllr Fox said he was “absolutely disgusted” by the comments.

But Cllr Armand Watts, who worked with Cllrs Batrouni and Debby Blakebrough and a parents’ group after the problems came to light, said he was angry over the handling of the issue.

He said: “Children were completely disregarded by this authority. Some of those children hadn’t had an appropriate education in six weeks.

“I have never, ever seen anything so collectively appalling as this.