Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of his Department's capital grants to local authorities have been spent on internal (a) administration and (b) other management costs in each financial year since 2015-16.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In line with the guidance issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, capital grants to local authorities are non-ringfenced, and not subject to any restrictions on how local authorities spend the grant money. However, to ensure capital grants are spent on delivering the schemes for which they are intended, my department requires a declaration to be made by the recipient local authorities that the conditions of each grant have been complied with.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help families with the cost of school bus fares in (a) Bournemouth East constituency and (b) the South West.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department’s school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education due to a lack of transport. Local Authorities must arrange free home to school travel for children of compulsory school age 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 travel for children from low income families.
Most central Government funding for home to school travel is made available to Local Authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) administered by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). DLUHC will bring forward proposals for the LGFS 2024/25 in the usual way later in the year. Local Government spending will be carefully considered to ensure councils can continue to deliver vital services.
The Department provides grant funding to Local Authorities as a contribution towards the cost of extended rights travel for children from low income families. This is just under £45.8 million in the 2023/23 financial year. The Department will shortly be calculating Local Authorities’ allocations of this grant for 2024/25.
Fares and concessions on public transport are set by transport operators and it is for them to decide whether and how to implement any concessions for children travelling to school. The Government is offering support to help people with costs such as childcare, bills and transport. The Government’s dedicated website provides more information about cost of living support, which is available at: https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to increase funding to local authorities for the provision of free bus travel to schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department’s school travel policy aims to make sure that no pupil is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local Authorities must arrange free home to school travel for pupils of compulsory school age 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 travel for pupils from low income families. In the 2021/22 financial year (the most recent year for which data is currently available), Local Authorities spent £1.4 billion on home to school travel for pupils of compulsory school age.
The majority of central Government funding for home to school travel is made available to Local Authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) administered by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). DLUHC will bring forward proposals for the Local Government Finance Settlement 2024/25 in the usual way later in the year. When finalising budgets, local Government spending will be carefully considered to ensure councils can continue to deliver vital services. This will include considering the effect of inflation and other wider economic circumstances. The local Government finance policy statement, published last December, sets out the measures expected to be maintained into 2024/25.
The Department additionally provides grant funding to Local Authorities as a contribution towards the cost of ‘extended rights’ travel, this is just under £45.8 million in the 2023/24 financial year.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support new tram lines extensions or new tram lines in the East and West Midlands.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Responsibility for promoting new mass transit schemes, or extensions to existing networks, is devolved to local transport authorities (LTAs) in England. LTAs are best placed to bring forward new mass transit proposals, which could include light rail or tram technology, based on local transport challenges and opportunities.
Currently, the principal way LTAs can access Government funding for mass transit schemes which they wish to prioritise is through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) for eligible Mayoral Combined Authorities. West Midlands Combined Authority has been allocated a Settlement of £1.05 billion between 2022/23 and 2026/27.
In the East Midlands, Nottingham Express Transit is financed under a private finance initiative structure. The current contract, which was signed in 2011, expanded the tram network, doubling the previous size. The cost of this expansion will be met over the 23-year life of the contract, and the Department for Transport makes an annual contribution of £24.95 million per annum, alongside a contribution from Nottingham City Council to pay for this scheme.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the affordability of (a) transport to school and (b) school uniform for families that are not eligible for support for those costs.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government understands that many people are worried about the impact of rising prices, with many households struggling to make their incomes stretch to cover the basics. The Government cannot insulate people from rising costs completely, but it is offering support to help people with costs such as childcare, bills and transport. The Government’s dedicated website provides more information about support with the cost of living. The information is available here: https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/.
The Department’s school transport policy aims to ensure that no child of compulsory school age is unable to access education because of a lack of transport. Local Authorities must arrange free travel to school for children aged 5 to 16 who attend their nearest school and cannot walk there due to the distance, route safety, or as a result of special educational needs, disability or mobility problems. There are additional rights to free travel for low income families aimed at helping them to exercise school choice. There are no plans to extend free home to school travel to all children.
Local Authorities spent more than £1.6 billion on home to school travel in the 2021/22 financial year. The majority of central Government funding for home to school travel is made available to Local Authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS), which is administered by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). The Department for Education provides grant funding to Local Authorities as a contribution towards the cost of extended rights travel. This is just under £45.8 million in the 2023/24 financial year.
The Department has published statutory guidance on the ‘Cost of School Uniform’ to ensure that the cost of school uniform is reasonable and secures best value for money for all parents. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms. It is for the governing board of a school to decide whether there should be a school uniform policy and, if so, what that should be.
The guidance requires schools to ensure that their uniform is affordable and sets a number of requirements to help ensure that. These requirements include assessing the cost implications of their uniform policy and engaging with parents and pupils on cost issues.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of providing free transport to and from school for all children.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government understands that many people are worried about the impact of rising prices, with many households struggling to make their incomes stretch to cover the basics. The Government cannot insulate people from rising costs completely, but it is offering support to help people with costs such as childcare, bills and transport. The Government’s dedicated website provides more information about support with the cost of living. The information is available here: https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/.
The Department’s school transport policy aims to ensure that no child of compulsory school age is unable to access education because of a lack of transport. Local Authorities must arrange free travel to school for children aged 5 to 16 who attend their nearest school and cannot walk there due to the distance, route safety, or as a result of special educational needs, disability or mobility problems. There are additional rights to free travel for low income families aimed at helping them to exercise school choice. There are no plans to extend free home to school travel to all children.
Local Authorities spent more than £1.6 billion on home to school travel in the 2021/22 financial year. The majority of central Government funding for home to school travel is made available to Local Authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS), which is administered by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). The Department for Education provides grant funding to Local Authorities as a contribution towards the cost of extended rights travel. This is just under £45.8 million in the 2023/24 financial year.
The Department has published statutory guidance on the ‘Cost of School Uniform’ to ensure that the cost of school uniform is reasonable and secures best value for money for all parents. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms. It is for the governing board of a school to decide whether there should be a school uniform policy and, if so, what that should be.
The guidance requires schools to ensure that their uniform is affordable and sets a number of requirements to help ensure that. These requirements include assessing the cost implications of their uniform policy and engaging with parents and pupils on cost issues.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will take steps to clarify the funding that will be allocated through NIO direction to Northern Irish Departments for (a) NHS waiting lists in Quarter 1 2023/24 (b) air connectivity to Derry/Londonderry (c) Easter school holiday lunches and (d) rural community transport.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
In the absence of functioning devolved institutions, Northern Ireland Office officials continue to work with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive Department of Finance on the budget allocations for the 2023-24 financial year. Based on the Northern Ireland budget position for the 2022-23 financial year, the expectation is that balancing the 2023-24 budget will be extremely challenging.
The UK Government recognises that there will be impacts on people and businesses in Northern Ireland as a result of the difficult decisions needed in order for Northern Ireland Executive departments to live within their budgets. It remains the UK Government’s firm view that the right people to make these decisions are locally elected politicians in a fully functioning Northern Ireland Executive and local Assembly. In the absence of these, it will be for the relevant Northern Ireland Executive departments to manage their funding, in accordance with powers provided under the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc.) Act 2022.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to maintain the provision of school transport services in rural areas.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department’s school transport policy aims to ensure that no child of compulsory school age is unable to access education because of a lack of transport. Local Authorities must arrange free travel to school for children aged 5 to 16 who attend their nearest school and cannot walk there due to the distance, route safety, or as a result of special educational needs, disability or mobility problems. There are additional rights to free transport for low-income families aimed at helping them exercise school choice. Home to school travel and transport guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance.
The majority of central Government funding for home to school transport is made available to Local Authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement, administered by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The Department provides grant funding to Local Authorities as a contribution towards the cost of extended rights transport, which is just under £45.8 million in the 2023/24 financial year.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to work with the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure to avoid the closure of Rural Community Transport Providers in Northern Ireland at the end of April 2023; what alternatives they intend to make available to users of these services; and how the steps they are taking will ensure that passengers are able to attend health appointments.
Answered by Lord Caine - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In the absence of functioning devolved institutions, Northern Ireland Office officials are working with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive Department of Finance on the budget allocations for the next financial year. Based on the Northern Ireland budget position for the 2022-23 financial year, the expectation is that balancing the 2023-24 budget will be extremely challenging.
The UK Government recognises that there will be impacts on people and businesses in Northern Ireland as a result of the difficult decisions needed in order for Northern Ireland Executive departments to live within their budgets. It remains the UK Government’s firm view that the right people to make these decisions are locally elected politicians in a fully functioning Northern Ireland Executive and local Assembly. In the absence of these, it will be for the relevant Northern Ireland Executive department, in this case the Department for Infrastructure, to manage its funding, including provision for rural community transport.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help support school bus services; and what steps she is taking with stakeholders to protect existing school bus routes from cutbacks.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department’s school transport policy aims to ensure that no pupil is unable to attend school because of a lack of transport. Local Authorities must arrange free travel to school for pupils aged 5 to 16 who attend their nearest school and cannot walk there due to distance, route safety, or as a result of special educational needs, disability or mobility problems. There are additional rights to free transport for low income families, aimed at helping them exercise school choice.
The majority of central Government funding for home to school transport is made available to Local Authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS), administered by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities. The Department for Education provides grant funding to Local Authorities as a contribution towards the cost of extended rights transport. This is £45.8 million in the 2023/24 financial year.
The Department recognises that Local Authorities are delivering services in a challenging environment. The Department is working with other Government departments and with the sector to understand the challenges they are facing.