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Written question asked by Aaron Bell (Conservative) on Monday, 31 October 2022, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 November 2022. It was answered by Nick Gibb (Conservative) on Tuesday, 8 November 2022 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Pupils: Travel

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will provide additional support to students from low-income families to help pay for journeys to and from their (a) school and (b) other place of education in the 2022-23 academic year, in the context of the rise in inflation.

Answer

The Department’s home-to-school transport policy aims to ensure that no child is unable to access education because of a lack of transport. Local authorities must provide free home-to-school transport for children of compulsory school age who attend their nearest school and cannot walk there due to distance, route safety, or as a result of special educational needs, disability or mobility problems. There are additional rights to free transport for low-income families aimed at helping them exercise school choice. These are known as extended rights. Guidance for local authorities on home-to-school transport is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance.

Local authorities must also publish a transport policy statement each year that sets out the travel arrangements they consider it necessary to make to support young people of sixth form age to attend post-16 education or training. It is for local authorities to decide on the exact level of post-16 transport support in their area, based on local circumstances and priorities. Some young people may be eligible for support from the 16-19 Bursary Fund. Further information can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/1619-bursary-fund.

Most central government funding for home to school transport is provided through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) administered by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities. The LGFS made £54.1 billion available to local authorities in the financial year 2022/23, an increase of up to £3.7 billion on 2021/22. This is the largest cash-terms increase in grant funding provided through the settlement in the past 10 years. The Department also provides grant funding to local authorities as a contribution towards the cost of extended rights transport. This amount is £43.3 million in the 2022/23 financial year.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
74978
Session
2022-23
Subjects
Finance Inflation Low incomes Pupils Travel
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk