A campaign to prevent schools from operating minibuses under the Section 19 permit regime has restarted with a relaunched petition seeking the necessary legislative change.

It is again led by Steve and Liz Fitzgerald, whose daughter was a victim of the M40 minibus crash of 1993 in which 12 children and a teacher died. The petition can be signed online by adults and children and the campaign has the continuing support of unions NASUWT, GMB, Unison and Unite.

The Fitzgeralds first launched a call for action on use of Section 19 permits by schools in November 2023. It gained the support of education unions, which issued joint guidance to teachers that strongly advises them not to drive school minibuses. An Early Day Motion was subsequently tabled to support the campaign.

However, the petition lapsed in 2024 because of that year’s general election. The Fitzgeralds hope that momentum can be regained with the relaunch and are asking members of the coach, bus and minibus industry to support it.

The work also has the backing of campaign group Belt Up School Kids. Director Pat Harris hopes that many in those sectors will continue their advocacy by signing the petition using the adjacent code.

Under the Fitzgeralds’ call, all schools – regardless of whether they are state-run or private – that wish to operate minibuses would be required to do so under the O-Licensing regime.

The Fitzgeralds have been at the forefront of driving change to school minibus operation.

They have a meeting planned with Local Transport Minister Simon Lightwood and officials from the Department for Transport to discuss the matter and have generated support from their MP.

When the Early Day Motion was tabled in early 2024, Mr Lightwood – who then held the shadow Local Transport Minister role – was present at a briefing. He was said then to be “cautiously supportive” of the call for change.

“The law and regulations that govern minibus operations by schools is both unjust and confusing,” the Fitzgeralds say in a statement. They add that the current position “is potentially… unsafe for the pupils and staff involved and the general public” and that “the current law is not fit for purpose.”

Use of Section 19 permits is open to state schools and private schools that are not operated for profit, including those registered as charities.

The Fitzgeralds believe that the mechanism around those permits is insufficiently well defined “and frequently open to misinterpretation and error, with poor safeguards for pupils and drivers.”

They note that survey work carried out by teachers’ union NASUWT indicates how the situation around the use of the Section 19 permit regime for school minibuses is worse than had been thought. “Appallingly, little has changed since 1993,” the Fitzgeralds continue.

“We believe that many schools are inadvertently still playing Russian Roulette with the lives of children, teachers and support staff – and the general public.”

The petition hopes to gather at least 10,000 signatures. It runs until 18 August and can be signed using the code above or via the link below.

Sign the petition here.

source:route-one.net