Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what a) guidance and b) support does her Department provide to ensure sufficient school transport capacity in rural areas such as West Dorset during periods of high demand.

Local authorities are responsible for arranging home-to-school travel for eligible children. They use a mix of in-house services, passes for free travel on public transport and contracts with private operators and must ensure the arrangements they make are suitable for the needs of the children travelling.

Most local bus services in England outside London are run on a commercial basis where the operator decides on routes and provision, including the frequency of services and the type of vehicle used. The government is committed to improving bus services and has confirmed investment of over £3 billion until 2028/29 for local authorities and bus operators to maintain and improve bus services.