Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the expenditure by local authorities on provision of (a) free or reduced cost rail travel for young people continuing in education beyond the age of 16, (b) rail passes for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities or mobility problems to get to school in the last 12 months.

The statutory responsibility for transport to education or training for 16 to 18 year olds rests with local authorities and they are expected to set out appropriate plans which reflect local needs and circumstances.

Local authorities are required under Section 251 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 to prepare and submit statements about planned and actual expenditure on education and children and young people’s services to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.

The most recent data for 2017/18 is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/section-251-2017-to-2018. However, these annual statements do not include the level of detail needed to estimate a local authority’s expenditure on free or reduced cost rail travel for young people, including those with special educational needs and disability or mobility problems.