Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to work with schools in London to ensure that children can travel to school while public transport limitations are in place as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide free home to school transport for eligible pupils. The aim of the duty is to ensure that no child is prevented from attending school because they cannot walk there, whether that is because of distance, the safety of the route, or their special educational needs or disability. In London, local authorities do not need to provide free home to school transport for children who are able to travel for free on Transport for London (TfL) services.

On 15 May, the Government announced that, as part of a £1.6 billion funding package to protect TfL services, free travel for under 18s will be temporarily suspended. This will help reduce the risk of crowding on transport at busy times by encouraging those who can to walk or cycle instead. As part of the deal, arrangements will be put in place to ensure that children eligible for free home to school transport can still travel to school for free. The cost of this will not fall on London boroughs.

The Department for Transport has published guidance for the public on safer travel during the COVID-19 outbreak. Parents and children may wish to refer to this when planning their journeys to school. The guidance is available here: www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers.