CUTS to free school transport in Oxfordshire have been shelved after Government policy changes sent county council chiefs back to the drawing board.

A decision on plans to withdraw free transport from parents who choose not to send their children to their nearest school was due to be made today.

But no vote will be held until the autumn after the Government scrapped its latest policy, to demand more thorough consultation.

The Oxford School Bus Action Group (OSBAG) has hailed the announcement a success for campaigners, who have complained that the consultation was confusing and excluded some schools.

Spokesman Andrew Baud said: “The decision is a major success for OSBAG.

“The attempt by the council cabinet to rush through such a fundamental change to our children’s education has backfired spectacularly and provoked a 21st century villagers’ revolt, supported by people from all backgrounds in all areas of Oxfordshire.”

Council leader Ian Hudspeth last night admitted that there had been concerns at County Hall that the consultation on the plans did not fit in with Government guidelines, which were now in force.

He said: “There were concerns that the change in legislation may have meant the consultation didn’t fit with the new guidelines, and we wanted to ensure everything was done in the correct way.

“The main thing is we wanted to make sure we have got the full details of what the expected impact will be from schools and parents.”

He denied the council had been looking for an excuse to defer the decision, and said he had been considering putting it off before the Government changed its policy.

He said: “Regardless of the issues surrounding the change to Government guidance I was intending to put forward a proposal to re-consult later this year in any event.

“It’s important to stress that this decision is not a commitment to abandoning the proposals.”

While it won’t make a decision as planned today, the debate on the issue will still go ahead at County Hall at 2pm.

A new policy won’t be put together until new guidance is drawn up in the autumn.

Last Thursday, the Department for Education (DfE) reverted back to its 2007 policy on changes to home-to-school transport which states councils “should consult widely on any changes to their local policies on school travel arrangements, with all interested parties included in the consultations”.

The guidelines also state consultations should last for at least 28 working days during term time.

In Oxfordshire, the consultation on the plans which ended yesterday had lasted for 29 days, but questions have been asked by campaigners about whether or not all schools had been properly consulted.

DfEspokesman Leigh Dowd said: “We published on March 8, 2013, statutory guidance on home-to-school transport.

“A number of local authorities, dioceses and voluntary organisations have suggested ways in which the guidance could be more helpful. We have therefore decided to reinstate, for the time being, the statutory guidance which applied immediately prior to the publication of the March 8, 2013, guidance.

“During the autumn, we will be consulting widely on a further version of the statutory guidance. A key aim for this new guidance will be to reduce prescription and to allow greater freedom for local authorities to develop transport policies that meet local needs.

“We also aim to ensure that the final guidance reflects, so far as possible, the views of those affected by the decisions that local authorities make about home-to-school transport policies.”

The Oxford Mail asked the DfE for a copy of the 2013 guidance and the changes from the 2007 guidance, but it didn’t respond to our request.

At a meeting at Kennington Village Hall last Monday, attended by hundreds of parents, OSBAG called for the council’s cabinet member for education, Melinda Tilley, to resign over the issue.

A petition, which has more than 4,600 signatures against the plans, can be found at tiny.cc/t3h0zw