Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an estimate of the increase in the number of children who will be eligible for the new offer of free travel to their closest selective school compared to the previous offer.

The Department does not collect data on the take-up of any entitlement to free home to school transport, including extended rights for pupils from low-income families. However, at January 2016, over 3,000 free school meal pupils aged up to 16 attended a selective school and whilst some of these may already be in receipt of free transport, we expect a large proportion to be able to benefit from the new measure. This is in addition to new pupils who will be able to attend a selective school because we have removed the barrier to choice and access that high transport costs can present to low-income families.