Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on improving the affordability of travel for post-16 students attending schools, colleges and training providers in rural areas.

Both the Department for Transport and the Department for Education recognise that rural communities face transport challenges. The Department for Transport is developing a new transport poverty tool to help national and local bodies in England identify where transport connectivity and affordability may be barriers in accessing employment and essential services. In developing this tool, officials are considering a range of data sources, together with the perspectives of academics, local transport authorities, community organisations and residents through targeted research, to understand better the transport issues people, particularly those in low-income households, experience. The department has piloted the use of this tool in several key policy areas intended to support young people to participate in education, training and work by understanding and removing barriers.