Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in fulfilling its strategy for 16 and 17 year-olds to take up education and training as set out in 1.4.2 of its Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper (CP 1412), what funding they will provide for transport in rural areas.

The responsibility for post-16 transport lies with local authorities, who have a duty to publish a transport policy statement each year that sets out the travel arrangements they will make to support young people to access further education. ​

​Arrangements do not have to be free, but the department expects local authorities, including those in rural areas, to make reasonable decisions based on the needs of their population, the local transport infrastructure, and the resources they have available. ​

​The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund is also used to help students with travel costs, including those on low incomes. It enables schools, colleges and training providers to support students with transport costs where these have been identified as a barrier to participation.​

​In addition to their statutory responsibilities, many local authorities do offer some form of subsidised transport which, combined with the 16 to 19 bursary, has been intended to provide financial support to students from low-income households. These decisions are best made locally, in consideration of local needs, the resources available and other local circumstances.