Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the legal position is on the wearing of face masks and social distancing on school transport.

The Government has provided guidance on minimising the risk of transmission of COVID-19 on dedicated school transport in the autumn term. It is available here:www.gov.uk/government/publications/transport-to-school-and-other-places-of-education-autumn-term-2020/transport-to-school-and-other-places-of-education-autumn-term-2020#part-b-guidance-for-dedicated-transport-to-schools-and-other-places-of-education-for-autumn-term-2020.

The guidance explains that the social distancing guidelines for public transport, 2 metres or 1 metre plus other suitable precautions wherever possible, need not be uniformly applied on dedicated school transport, but that distancing should be maximised wherever possible. This approach is necessary to ensure all children can get to school or college. It is proportionate because dedicated transport often carries the same group of children or young people on a regular basis and they do not mix with the general public on those journeys. This helps limit the number of people with whom they come into contact.

The law that requires people aged 11 and over to wear a face covering on public transport does not apply to dedicated school transport. However, our guidance recommends that local authorities advise people aged 11 and over to wear a face covering unless they are exempt. We believe most local authorities expect children and young people to wear a face covering on dedicated school transport, and we support them in that.