Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of aligning eligibility for free home-to-school transport with a child's designated or catchment school, rather than nearest suitable school.

The department’s home to school travel policy aims to make sure no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Children of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, are eligible for free travel if they attend their nearest suitable school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or the safety of the route. There are extended rights to free travel for low-income families to help them exercise school choice. We do not currently have any plans to change the existing statutory framework.