Free school transport demands push system to breaking point

FREE SCHOOL transport in England is being “pushed to breaking point” with authorities now spending more than a £1bn a year on taking children to class, council chiefs have warned.

Demand and costs are putting increasing pressure on school transport budgets, according to the Local Government Association (LGA).

It is calling for the Government to use a current review of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services to understand the pressures on free school transport and fully fund the schemes.

In a three-year period, national spending on home-to-school transport increased by around £60m (6.5 per cent) to £1.08bn in 2017/18, a report commissioned by the LGA and County Councils Network says.

It estimates that in five years’ time, local authority expenditure on home-to-school transport could reach £1.2bn.

“This is considerably more than is spent nationally on youth services, family support services or children’s centres,” the Isos Partnership report says.

It adds that in the current funding context, continuing to fund school transport in the same way “may not be financially sustainable”.

More than eight in 10 (83 per cent) of councils are overspending their school transport budgets, the study says, with increasing expenditure fuelled by the costs of providing transport for SEND children.

Spending on transport for SEND youngsters has risen by 13 per cent for children aged 16 and under, and by 68 per cent for those post-16.

At the same time, there has been a 12 per cent drop in spending on mainstream transport for children aged 16 and under, and a 27 per cent fall for those post-16.

Transport for SEND pupils now accounts for over two-thirds (69 per cent) of school transport budgets.

The LGA said around 550,000 young people currently get free transport each year and that around 145,000 of them are SEND pupils.

Under current rules, councils have a statutory duty to provide transport under certain circumstances, for example if a child lives more than a set distance from their school, or because they have special needs or mobility issues.

Councillor Judith Blake, chair of the LGA’s children and young people board and leader of Leeds Council, said: “Councils are working as hard as they can to ensure suitable travel arrangements are in place for children who could not reasonably be expected to walk or would otherwise find it difficult to attend school because of distance, mobility, special educational needs or the routes they have to take.

“This is becoming increasingly difficult with our research showing that ongoing funding pressures, rising demand and costs are pushing the scheme to breaking point.

“Free school transport is a lifeline for many pupils and their families but it must be adequately funded if councils are to meet their legal duties to all children and young people.”

A Department for Education spokesman said: “We want to make sure that children are able to access the free home to school transport they are entitled to, which is why we recently consulted on a revised version of the statutory home to school transport guidance.”

Free school transport is a lifeline for many pupils and their families

Councillor Judith Blake, the leader of Leeds City Council