Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to extend free school transport in rural areas to include schools other than the nearest suitable school.

The department’s home to school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by 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 home to school travel for children who are eligible for free school meals or whose parents claim the maximum amount of Working Tax Credit. These are intended to support school choice for families where the cost of travel may otherwise be a barrier. For children up until age 11, the walking distance remains set at 2 miles. Children aged 11 to 16 are eligible for free travel to one of their three nearest schools, provided it is between 2 and 6 miles from their home, or to a school that is between 2 and 16 miles from their home that their parents have chosen on the grounds of their religion or belief and there is no suitable school, having regard to that religion or belief, nearer to their home. Local authorities have the discretion to arrange travel for other children but are not required to do so.

I am keen to understand how well home-to-school transport supports children to access educational opportunity and will be working with departmental officials on this. In addition, this government has set out an action plan to deliver better bus services and drive opportunity to under-served regions. The government will introduce the Buses Bill to put the power over local bus services in the hands of local leaders to ensure networks can meet the needs of the communities who rely on them.