Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to monitor Sustainable Mode of Travel to School strategies as a statutory duty for local authorities; and when they plan to review those strategies in the near future.

Local authorities (LAs) are under a duty to promote the use of sustainable modes of travel to school and are required to develop a strategy for sustainable local travel. Information about school travel and transport options available must be published on the LA’s website. LAs should carry out an audit of the sustainable transport infrastructure that supports travel to school and it is also good practice to audit individual school routes. The specifics of the audit and how often it should be reviewed are for a local authority to decide.

On 18 July 2014, the Department for Education issued revised home to school travel guidance which advises LAs of these duties. The guidance is published online at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance