Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allocating funding for the transport costs of children aged (a) 16, (b) 17 and (c) 18 in (i) special education, (ii) further education and (iii) educational day release for apprenticeships.

The statutory responsibility for transport to education and training for 16 to 19-year-olds rests with local authorities, enabling them to make decisions and arrangements which best match local needs and circumstances.

Following the introduction of Raising the Participation Age legislation in 2013, the government investigated the feasibility of mandating local authorities to provide subsidised or free transport for young people post-16. Following this assessment, the department found that this approach would be both prohibitively expensive and would offer poor value for money.

The current arrangements, whereby support is provided by local authorities, transport providers, schools and colleges, alongside the 16-19 Bursary Fund, are the most cost effective solutions, and they enable local government and other organisations to tailor support in the most appropriate way according to local circumstances and needs.