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8. Travel Assistance for Young Adults over the age of 19 with an EHC Plan

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Travel Assistance for young adults over the age of 19 with an EHC plan

  1. The Council's duty and powers in relation to travel assistance for 19 to 25 year olds applies to  young adults with special educational needs and disabilities aged between 19 and 25 inclusive who have an EHC Plan.

  2. The Council is required to provide assistance where needed to young adults who attend a local authority maintained or assisted further or higher education institutions or an institution within the further education sector. 

  3. The purpose of the 19-25 travel assistance duty is to ensure that those young adults with the most complex needs who have no other means of transportation can undertake further education and training after their 19th birthday to help move towards more independent living.

  4. The Council must also provide assistance where necessary to young adults with EHC plans where the Council has secured the provision of education or training at an institution outside the further and higher education sectors and the Council is providing boarding accommodation in connection with that education or training. In these cases, the Council will consider whether assistance with travel is necessary to enable the young adult to maintain attendance at their education placement.

  5. The assessment of Travel Assistance requests for young adults aged 19-25 is needs-led. The individual needs are assessed to inform the appropriate form of travel support.

  6. For post-19 adults starting a new course, evidence must be provided as to why it is necessary for the Council and not the adult to make travel arrangements. To assess this and understand the individual circumstances, we would need to know:

- the nature of the route, or alternative routes, which the adult could reasonably be expected to take to college / place of learning

- what other arrangements you have considered or tried and why they are not suitable

- if there is a family member or carer who is willing and able to transport the young adult and if not, why it would not be possible or reasonable for them to do so

- whether the young adult is in receipt of higher rate mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment or Disability Living Allowance, the purpose of which is to assist those who have mobility problems, with severe difficulty walking or who need help getting around outside. We would normally expect this benefit to be fully utilised prior to requesting travel assistance from the Council. If there are any factors limiting their use you should provide details of them.

- whether there is a 'Motability' vehicle for which the young adult may or may not be the driver.

- whether the young adult has support from the Council's social care department to assist with travel.

- any other needs or circumstances that you consider need to be taken into account. 

  1. If travel assistance is provided to adults meeting the eligibility criteria, the contributions/charges set out in section 7 above will not apply.

  2. The Council will consider whether to exercise its discretion in exceptional circumstances to pay all or part of the reasonable travelling expenses of a young adult with an EHC plan attending an institution outside the further education sector or which is not a council-assisted or maintained institution based on the individual circumstances including the factors set out above.

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