WHEN there are finite resources, it is always difficult for education authorities to determine priorities.

But surely there can be no greater priority than the health and safety of our children? When parents hand over responsibility to authorities for the welfare of their loved ones, they expect them to be given the best possible standards of care.

When they are taken to and from school in buses not fitted with seatbelts, then that level of care is below reasonable expectations.

It is a ludicrous situation that children taken to school by car have to be belted up or face the wrath of the law, yet there is no legal requirement for them to be belted up in buses.

In an accident, seatbelts substantially reduce the risk of injury, or can make injuries less serious. In the most serious of circumstances, they can make the difference between life and death.

Our Schools Seatbelt Scandal campaign has highlighted the road safety benefits of fitting restraints in school buses. It has also highlighted the wide variance in school transport policies across our region.

No one can dispute the value of seatbelts on safety grounds. And we maintain that children's lives outweigh any financial consideration.

To prove that point, North Yorkshire County Council is about to guarantee journeys in buses fitted with belts to all their schoolchildren.

The council, covering one of the biggest and most rural areas in Britain, is heavily dependent on school transport. If it can find a way to implement such a policy, then so can every other authority in the country.

There can certainly be no excuse in urban areas, where fewer school buses operate because more children are able to walk to and from school.

We applaud North Yorkshire's decision, and urge other councils to follow suit.

It is imperative that all councils insist that belts are fitted in all vehicles as part of their contract with transport companies.

The longer they delay in enforcing these conditions, the greater the danger to our children.