The number of school crossing patrollers in Perth and Kinross fell by half in just four years, figures reveal.
School crossing patrollers in Perthshire could be scrapped all together if council budget proposals are approved next week, but figures obtained from Tayside Contracts show that the overall number in the region has fallen almost every year since 2017.
This has sparked concern from union representatives, who have accused the local authority of targeting “services for young people and health and safety” as a way to save money.
Lowest number in Tayside
The number of school crossing patrollers in Perth and Kinross fell by half between 2017 and 2021, Tayside Contracts figures show.
In 2017 there were 56 crossing patrollers employed by the local authority contracting organisation for the Perth and Kinross region. By last year, this had fallen to 28.
The figures also show that Perth and Kinross has the lowest number of school crossing patrollers in Tayside.
In 2021 there were 68 patrollers in Dundee, down from 73 in 2017. Angus had the highest number, with 76 last year. This was up from 68 in 2017.
Less money being spent
The money being spent on school crossing patrollers by Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) also decreased significantly in the years before the provision was taken over by Tayside Contracts.
The FOI response showed that in 2015/16 financial year, PKC spent £307,950 on the provision of crossing patrollers for the region’s schools.
This fell to £291,689 the following year and by 2017/18 (the first year the provision had been outsourced to Tayside Contracts), council spending on school patrollers had fallen by more than two thirds to just £46,310.
However in the budget proposals to be discussed next week, it was outlined the council would save up to £179,000 by removing all remaining crossing patrollers in the region.
Cuts to crossing patrollers “shameful”
Child pedestrians are two and a half times more likely than adults to be injured in road traffic accidents, according to data from the Glasgow Centre for Population Health.
The research body also found that between 2005 and 2015, three times as many child pedestrians in deprived areas were injured compared with less deprived areas.
The potential safety impact of cuts to school crossing patrollers were among the concerns raised by local union reps, who labelled the cuts as “shameful”.
Helen Meldrum, GMB Scotland organiser, said: “The proposed cuts to all school crossing patrollers in Perth and Kinross Council is shameful.”
“Yet again, GMB members who are the lowest paid do one of the most important jobs in keeping children safe in one of our most rural local authorities are first on the list for cutting.
“Time and again, services for our young people and health and safety are targeted as a means to make cuts after a decade of austerity.
“The council has a duty under the public sector equality duty to make decisions ‘right the first time’ and ‘take effective action on equality, yet these proposed cuts only serve to reduce the opportunities of young people and make our rural roads less safe.”.
High number of vacancies
Perth and Kinross Council say the reduction in the number of crossing patrollers, as well as spending on this provision, was partly down to high numbers of vacancies for these posts.
A spokesperson for the local authority said: “We have 44 posts school crossing patrollers posts for Perth and Kinross, however 20 of those posts are currently vacant which has reduced our expenditure in recent years.
“The reduction in the number of posts is due to crossing infrastructure upgrades which allowed some posts to be removed. No School Crossing Patroller was removed until site assessments, completion of any infrastructure improvements had been made and school travel plans updated and communicated.”
