Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of supporting parents and carers with the rising cost of school bus transportation in the context of the increase in fuel prices.

The department’s home-to-school transport policy aims to ensure that no child is unable to access education because of a lack of transport. Local authorities must provide free transport for children of compulsory school age who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, because of their special educational needs or disability, or because the route is unsafe. There are additional rights to free transport for low-income families aimed at helping them exercise school choice. More detail is outlined in the home-to-school travel and transport guidance. This is available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance.

The department does not have plans for specific additional support for families with the cost of school buses.