Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, has expressed “shock” at the recent disclosure that Northumberland County Council spent £10m on school taxis last year and challenged the authority to clarify their policy and explain how they are providing the best value for public money. Anne-Marie Trevelayan who is leading the campaign to “stop the teenage tax” over post-16 transport said; “I am truly shocked by these figures, the Labour Administration have maintained that there was a need to make a £3.6m efficiency saving by scrapping post-16 transport and now we learn that this figured is dwarfed by the amount they are spending on taxis”.“I am far from convinced that the Council have adopted anywhere near the most cost-effective way to ferry people around nor negotiated effectively to ensure the best deal for taxpayers”. She also revealed that she has been approached by a number of parents who have expressed concern at the Council's policy. “I have heard parents describing the policy as a 'joke' and a 'gravy train' for the taxi companies, one parent told me of a household where three children go to three different schools within a short radius in one town, but three separate separate taxis are sent, this surely cannot make sense in anyone's book”. Peter Jackson, the leader of the Conservative Group on the Council has also expressed strong criticism and called for a thorough investigation; "After all of the heartache for young people and families over the botched introduction of the £600 Teenage Tax for Post 16 students just to get to school, I was just staggered to hear that Northumberland County Council is spending £10 million on taxis We have been told by residents of the great waste and inefficiency in these taxi arrangements and I have called for an urgent and thorough investigation into this through the Council's Scrutiny system. Whether this scam can be stopped will depend upon the Council's Labour/ Independent coalition administration waking up to what is going on".