According to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO), home-to-school transport costs in England have reached £2.3 billion annually, as children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) often have to travel longer distances to schools that meet their requirements.
AzEdu.az reports, based on information received from a foreign source, that over 500,000 children and young people up to the age of 25 receive council-funded transport services for home-to-school or college travel. According to the NAO, this led to an overspend of £415 million in local authorities' budgets last year.
Approximately 40% (180,000) of the 470,000 children under 16 have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), but councils spend approximately five times more on transport for SEND pupils than for other children (£8,116 compared to £1,526), as they often travel longer distances in individual taxis. This has led to a 70% increase in real-terms spending over the last eight years.
The NAO states that home-to-school transport is one of the fastest-growing areas of council expenditure. During this period, councils face progressively increasing budget deficits as the number of children requiring Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) is rapidly rising.
According to the BBC, George Finch of the Reform UK party, who was elected leader of Warwickshire Council at 18, wrote to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, proposing a review of the right to free transport for children, thereby suggesting budget savings.
Phillipson, however, stated that expecting 8-year-old children to walk 5 miles (approximately 8 km) to school poses a danger to children.
The government announced last week that it has postponed the publication of the long-awaited white paper on the restructuring of SEND services until next year. The NAO, in its report, urged ministries to address the issue of home-to-school transport within the framework of SEND reforms.
Local authorities are required to provide free transport for children who live a long distance from school, have special educational needs and disabilities, or cannot walk to the nearest school due to safety reasons. Additional support is provided for low-income families.
