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Written question asked by Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 23 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 25 June 2026. It was answered by Paul Waugh (Labour) on Wednesday, 5 August 2026 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Special Educational Needs: Transport

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential benefits of excepting SEND transport operators from National Insurance contribution increases to relieve pressures on local authority budgets.

Answer

Home-to-school travel is an integral part of the school system. It provides a valuable service on which many families rely. The department is grateful to the many transport operators for the crucial role they play in ensuring that children receive the education they need to help them thrive.

Officials engage regularly with local authorities to understand the challenges they face and to monitor impact, but have not seen any significant impact of the National Insurance contribution (NIC) changes on home-to-school travel for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Local authorities are responsible for arranging home-to-school travel and deliver this through a range of in-house services and external providers.

Businesses can claim employer reliefs on NICs, where eligible. These reliefs are estimated to have been worth around £2.5 billion in the 2025/26 financial year.

Over 40% of employers (around 900,000) will not pay employer NICs in 2030/31, as their total employer NICs bill will continue to fall below the Employment Allowance, which was more than doubled to £10,500 in April 2025.

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Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
12445
Session
2026-27
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Employers' contributions Local government finance Transport Special educational needs
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk