Campaigners have reacted angrily to an admission from Under-Secretary of State for Transport Guy Opperman that the government is not planning to amend Section 19 and Section 22 legislation which allows schools to operate minibuses without an O-Licence.
In response to a written question on 15 January, Guy Opperman, who has responsibility for coaches and buses, dealt a blow to a recently reignited campaign to close the loophole. This latest bid was launched in November – 30 years after 12 children died in on the M40 in a school minibus driven by a teacher.
Mr Opperman wrote: “We are not currently planning to revise Transport Act legislation in relation to the Section 19 and 22 permit schemes.”
Liberal Democrat Daisy Cooper had questioned if the government “will make an assessment of the potential merits of withdrawing Sections 19 and 22 exemptions for schools”.
Steve Fitzgerald, who with wife Liz has regularly raised the issue following the death of daughter Claire in the 1993 tragedy, said they were “appalled” at the lack of action.
The couple’s statement reiterates their call for schools to either operate school minibuses only via an O-Licence or to use professional operators.
It adds: “Overall, the way forward is to implement O-Licence legislation. To ensure safe practice for all, the law must be simple, succinct, straightforward and routinely enforced and recorded.
“So we are looking for urgent support from government to redress the current inequality in safety regulation in safety for young people and teachers alike.
“This is a matter above politics, it is a matter of life and death.”
Teachers’ union NASUWT reacted to the government’s stance by saying the Transport Act legislation puts undue pressure on teachers.
Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary for NASUWT, says in the statement: “There is no end to the list of responsibilities this government will pile upon teachers. It is dangerous to ask a teacher to drive a minibus when they only have a driver’s license. It is doubly dangerous to ask them to drive long distances after they have already completed their working day at school.
“In 1993, a minibus from Hagley Roman Catholic High School crashed into another vehicle on the hard shoulder of the M40 near Warwick. Twelve pupils and their teacher died; only two pupils survived.
“Thirty years on, the reason for the crash is still unresolved: The teacher at the wheel had been working all day, driving all evening, and did not have a minibus operator’s license. They should never have been put in such a position. Unbelievably, teachers are still expected to carry this burden.
“If the Secretary of State for Transport wishes to prevent further tragedies and to keep teachers and pupils safe on the road, he will scrap Section 19 and 22 exemptions for schools as a matter of urgency. They were only ever meant to be a stop gap.
“NASUWT will continue to campaign for safe and secure transport for teachers and pupils, and for teachers to be allowed to concentrate on teaching – not driving.”
