Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to commit to making transport provision for 16 to 19-year-old students with special educational needs and disabilities a statutory duty.

The department recognises that transport can enable young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to participate in education and training, and that transport arrangements and costs vary between local areas. Local authorities are not under a general duty to provide free post-16 transport. However, they must make arrangements they consider necessary to facilitate attendance and publish these in annual transport policy statements.

The government does not plan to introduce a universal statutory entitlement. Instead, we are considering targeted options to improve awareness of available support, promote independent travel and improve access where transport is a barrier. This work responds to concerns such as the Public Accounts Committee’s findings about the post-16 “cliff edge”, as well as the effects of transport provision on participation, families and affordability.

The 16 to 19 bursary fund may be used to meet essential participation costs, including travel, with institutions assessing individual need. The department does not hold data identifying the number or proportion of students with SEND whose bursary awards are used specifically for transport costs.