To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of school transport for SEND children in each of the last five years.
Answered on
3 July 2025
The department knows that delivering home-to-school travel can be very challenging for local authorities and that costs have increased steeply over recent years. In particular, challenges within the wider special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system have created significant pressure on home-to-school travel. The SEND system inherited by the government has been failing to meet the needs of children and families for far too long, with a lack of early intervention and support in mainstream schools and unsustainable strain on local government finances. The department is grateful to local authorities for ensuring that transport is available for eligible children in the face of significant challenge.
Section 251 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 requires local authorities to submit information about their education expenditure, including expenditure on home-to-school travel. The information collected from local authorities is published on GOV.UK. Further details are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/la-and-school-expenditure/2023-24.