Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking support (a) schools and (b) parents with school transport in rural areas.

The department’s home-to-school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities are responsible for arranging free home-to-school travel for eligible children. A child is eligible if they are of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, a disability or mobility problem, or because the nature of the route means it would be unsafe for them to do so. There are extended rights to free travel for children from low-income families.

In addition, the Bus Services Bill will put the power over local bus services in the hands of local leaders to ensure networks can meet the needs of communities who rely on them.