USK parents who send their children to school in Monmouth say they are being penalised by travel costs and fear for their child's safety.

In the past many parents have sent their children to Caerleon Comprehensive School due to it being in the catchment area with Monmouthshire County Council providing free transport, however, with Monmouth Comprehensive becoming more popular parents say they are being penalised for sending their children 13 miles to Monmouth instead of 12 miles to Caerleon, in Newport.

Some parents say there are no seat belts on the services buses and are often children standing for the 13 mile journey.

Based on a 38 week school year, at £13 per week, it costs £494 to sent one child to school, however, many parents have two or three children at Monmouth resulting in transport costs of over £1000 per year.

Parents are now taking stand and are lobbying MCC with letters being sent to every county councillor.

Andrew Richards who has two children in Monmouth Comprehensive says in the letter, "We, as rate payers and therefore financial contributors to the running of this county, are penalised  for sending our children to a comprehensive school that sits within the boundaries of this county. This has to be wrong.

"The penalty is that we have to pay for transport costs to get children who live in the county of Monmouthshire to a school that is in Monmouthshire. Children who attend Caerleon Comprehensive School, an out of county school, have their transport costs paid by the county."

Not only is the transport costs an issue but as the school become ever more popular with Usk children the bus service provided is unsuitable with no seat belts and many children having to stand up.

Mr Richards said, "Because of the large number of Usk children that attend Monmouth Comprehensive School, the service bus is unable to cater for them adequately.

"Health and safety issues worry us. Firstly, there are no seat belts on the service buses, so an accident involving such buses will inevitably result in more severe injuries.

"Secondly, because of the high numbers using the bus, large numbers of children have to stand for the journey. I am reliably informed that at times as many as 15 people can be standing at one time.

"Just imagine what will happen to those standing if the bus is involved in an accident. I am informed that you will be liable.

"It is your responsibility because, as a decision making body, you cannot on the one hand say there is parental choice attached to choice of school and then abnegate your responsibility as to our children's safety regarding the way that they arrive at school.

" As a county councillor, you and many of your colleagues rightly claim transport costs to undertake your responsibilities for the county and yet you are denying our children the same right and exposing them to unnecessary risks. We are using a school that sits within the borders of the county that you are temporarily overseeing, so surely our children deserve better.

"We are not asking for charity but we are asking for our children to have the right to travel to school safely and for them to have the same financial support that you afford those that are educated outside the county.

Monmouth MP David Davies says whilst he fully sympathizes with parents, Caerleon Comprehensive is within the catchment area of Usk, "I fully sympathize with the parents' concern, with a large amount of parents choosing to send their children to Monmouth perhaps we should be looking at better buses.

"Caerleon is in the catchment area so everyone can have a free bus to school, it is based on where the school is geographically not on the county.

"In my view parents should be able to send their children to any school they want but that would mean a change in the primary legislation.

"In the meantime I will be writing a letter to the council asking for better bus provision."

Huw Jones, Senior Officer at MCC's Passenger Transport Unit said, "The Passenger Transport Unit applies its policy consistently to determine any entitlement for free home to school transport. 

"Where applications fall short of these criteria, the authority can offer concessionary travel or award on a discretionary based on individual circumstances.

"We have informed parents of these options and will review any application should the circumstances leading to any refusal change."