A STEETON mum says her application for school travel costs funding support was rejected, because council officers insist she is earning more than she actually does.

Michaela Whitton, a single mother with three children living in Styveton Way, says the council has assessed her earnings based on her provisional tax credit award, even though this was made in arrears and did not take into account her changed circumstances.

She says she gave up a part-time cleaning job paying £8 an hour to begin a part-time care assistant job paying £6.60 an hour because she needed employment flexible enough to fit around a university course she has started.

Mrs Whitton spends £34 a month for her daughter Georgia, 13, to get to South Craven School in Cross Hills. But she would have received a free bus pass if the funding bid had been successful.

“They don’t seem to take into account the fact people’s circumstances change,” she said. “I’m being unfairly penalised.”

She applied for funding support on August 26, but her application was not dealt with until October 28 due to an “unprecedented” backlog of applications.

Mrs Whitton, who is a full-time student at Bradford University, said: “I’m on my own with three children and I’m trying to better myself by going to university. I started a three-year social work degree in September, and I had to take a lower paid job to fit round my university hours.

“I know there are people who try to cheat the system, but when you’ve always done things right and you get penalised anyway it’s mortifying.”

She also questioned the council’s assessment of the distance between her home and South Craven School.

“We’re 3.1 miles away from the school,” she said. “The council is saying the distance is less, but they’re basing it on Georgia taking shortcuts.

“I wouldn’t want her to be taking these shortcuts, especially as it’s now getting dark because I want her to be safe. If she’s walking I want her to be on the main roads.”

Cindy Peek, Bradford Council’s deputy director for children’s services, said Mrs Whitton’s application was refused after being carefully considered against the council’s policies.

She added: “The policy reflects the need to take into consideration walking routes to school, and not the route one would travel in a car. Walking routes are generally safer than expecting children to walk along busy traffic routes.

“It would not be appropriate for us to comment in detail on individual cases, but we can confirm Mrs Whitton’s application was reviewed under the agreed criteria and all factors of her case were reconsidered. We concluded the original decision was correct.”