Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of transport services for school children with special educational needs in (a) Essex and (b) England.

The department's ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

The department’s home-to-school travel policy aims to make sure no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. The department is working to understand how well home-to-school transport supports all children to access educational opportunity.

Local authorities must arrange free home-to-school travel for children of compulsory school age who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs (SEN), disability or mobility problem, or because the route is unsafe. There are extended rights to free home-to-school travel for children from low-income families, aimed at helping them exercise school choice. We know that challenges in the wider SEN system are creating pressure on home-to-school travel. More children have education, health and care plans and more of them travel a long way to a school that can meet their needs. We are grateful to local authorities for their considerable efforts to ensure eligible children can continue to get to school.

The government is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, so fewer children need to travel long distances to a school that can meet their needs. This will reduce the pressure on home-to-school travel over time.

In addition, the government prioritised local government at the Autumn Budget 2024. We announced £1.3 billion of new grant funding in the 2025/26 financial year for local government to deliver core services, including home-to-school travel. The government recognises the challenges local authorities are facing. Together with local income from council tax and business rates, this will provide a real-terms increase in core spending power of around 3.2%.