Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the total expenditure on taxis for school transport in England in the 2023–24 financial year, broken down by local authority; and what was the highest per-mile rate paid for taxi journeys compared to the lowest per-mile rate.

Local authorities are responsible for arranging free home to school travel for eligible children. The department collects data on the total amount each local authority spends, broken down by phase of education and by two broad categories of eligibility – travel agreed for reasons of the child’s special educational needs or disability (SEND) and for reasons other than SEND. This is attached and available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/la-and-school-expenditure#subjectTabs-createTable.

To date, the department has not collected data on the number of pupils receiving free home to school travel or on the travel arrangements local authorities make. We therefore do not hold the specific information requested.

In February 2025, the department launched a voluntary data collection, seeking more detailed information from local authorities.