East Renfrewshire parents will be fully refunded for cancelled school trips

Councillors have agreed a process to repay the money to ensure families “are not financially disadvantaged by any lengthy delays”.

There had been 45 trips planned before the end of term with around £365,000 collected from parents or carers and approximately £218,000 paid over to travel providers.

Residentials for P7 pupils can cost up to £350 per pupil while secondary school trips can rise to £2500 per student.

The decision to provide full refunds was made at a meeting of the authority’s emergencies committee.

A report to the committee stated: “For many families, the costs already paid to the council for these excursions will be significant and many have made enquiries about when they will be refunded.

“Any prolonged delay in refunding will be particularly difficult for those families already experiencing financial hardship due to the negative economic impact of Covid-19.”

It added: “Given the complexities of varying contractual terms and conditions and the understandable financial difficulties the travel industry now faces, it will take some time to finalise either full refunds from travel providers or the settlement of any necessary insurance claims.”

If no payments have been made to travel providers and the council can confirm there are no contractual obligations relating to cancellation, then a full refund will be issued.

A full refund can also be paid by the council if the supplier confirms the money will be returned later.

When a provider gives “sufficient” evidence as to why a full refund cannot be provided then an insurance claim will be launched to allow a full refund to be paid to parents or carers.

Schools have been given insurance checklists so they can collect all necessary documentation before a claim is submitted. The refunds will be paid once the council’s insurance officer has confirmed the correct documents have been provided by the school.

All school excursions are covered by a blanket East Renfrewshire Council travel insurance policy, which provides cover of up to £5000 per person up to a limit of £50,000 per trip.

The schools “will need to evidence that they have explored all avenues for obtaining a refund from the travel providers when submitting a claim”.