Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help improve school transport for children living in rural areas in Stratford-on-Avon constituency.

The department’s home to school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education from a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free home to school travel for children of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or because the nature of the route means it would be unsafe for them to do so. There are extended rights to free travel for children from low-income families.

Parents are responsible for making travel arrangements for children who are not eligible for free home to school travel. Good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities, providing access to schools and other services. This government has set out an action plan to deliver better bus services, grow passenger numbers and drive opportunity to under-served regions. As announced in the King’s Speech, the government will pass the Better Buses Bill to put the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders to ensure networks can meet the needs of the communities who rely on them, including in rural areas. The government also plans to empower local transport authorities by reforming bus funding to give local leaders more control and flexibility over their funding so they can plan ahead to deliver their local transport priorities.