To determine whether a pupil will receive free transport to their closest school, the policy requires the council to measure from their home to the nearest school gate. The council moved to a system where free travel is only provided to a child’s nearest suitable school last year in a bid to cut its annual school transport bill of more than £50m. Campaign group, the School Transport Action Group (STAG), has written to senior officers and councillors calling for a return to a catchment-based system. Mr Emmett said the way of measuring distance to assess eligibility for free home-to-school transport was historic and has been in place for many years. The council is currently working on a post-implementation review of the home-to-school transport policy, which is due to be published next month.