Ulster Unionist Education Spokesperson, Rosemary Barton MLA, has criticised the new online process for applying for home to school transport which will leave many families unable to access the transport services they need.

Rosemary Barton said:

“Providing an online application process for home to school transport is certainly a good idea for many parents who want quick and easy access to this service. Modernising these processes will help us to meet the expectations of our citizens. However, for many people in Northern Ireland reliable internet access is not available to them either in their own homes or in their local community.

“In my own constituency of Fermanagh & South Tyrone, only 62 percent of households have access to superfast broadband, considerably lower than the UK average which is almost 90 percent. Indeed, 1 in 10 premises in the constituency have to endure speeds of less than 2 megabytes per second, which is beneath the threshold required to use government services online.

“According to the consultation document all applications for transport assistance will have to be made online and where parents are unable to access the online system at home the EA will provide access to a computer terminal at any of its Resource Centres. There are only five centres in Northern Ireland, most of which operate between the hours of 8.30am and 5.00pm - this is not sufficient or accessible for working families who can only make this trip outside of work hours.

“I fear that this system has not been properly thought through or consulted upon, particularly with parents in mind. While this new system may save money it still needs to be functional – and this certainly is not. A dual application system should be retained until reliable broadband can be guaranteed across Northern Ireland.”