Lollipop patrols provide great service

Last year’s decisions by the present controlling majority Labour group, supported by Liberal Democrats, included a decision to charge the schools who have the Crossing Patrol service at least half the cost, from September 2015. But Labour’s budget for the full county council meeting last week, if then approved, went even further.

From this September the individual schools would have to find the whole cost of the service if they wish to keep the lollipop person. In Ribble Valley South West there are two primary schools who need and use the service – both are in Langho (St Mary’s RC and St Leonard’s CoE).

Both schools value the service. Kathryn Pym, headteacher at St Leonard’s, for example, has already told me the school are very happy with the service the lollipop lady provides to families. There are other ways savings can be made without putting children’s lives at risk. In effect, the county council is forcing headteachers to chose between spending their school’s scarce resources on the safety of children on their way to and from school, or on their education. The county council has a responsibility for road safety and Labour should not be seeking to pass that responsibility on to the schools. The Conservative Group of course opposed this bad proposal.

County Coun. Alan Schofield,

Ribble Valley South West