Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a requirement for school buses to have (a) seat belts and (b) sufficient seats for school children to avoid standing.

Buses and coaches used to take pupils to and from school are subject to Department for Transport legislation on vehicle safety. Guidance relating to the law on seat belts is available at the following links: www.gov.uk/government/publications/seat-belts-in-minibuses-coaches-and-other-buses/seat-belts-in-minibuses-coaches-and-other-buses and www.gov.uk/government/publications/seat-belts-on-urban-buses/seatbelts-on-urban-buses.

Public service buses designed for urban use are not required to have seat belts, including when they are used for school transport. Such buses are generally also allowed to carry standing passengers.

Local authorities may specify in their contracts with school transport providers that they will only accept vehicles fitted with seat belts.

The Department is currently consulting on revised statutory guidance on home to school transport and will consider as part of that consultation whether it should include guidance on this issue.