Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Better local transport options and an integrated approach to education and transport planning, would reduce...
Recommendation
Better local transport options and an integrated approach to education and transport planning, would reduce home to school transport costs, particularly in the most rural settings. The ongoing decline of bus services, particularly in rural areas, is a long-standing concern for this Committee. It has reduced travel options and increased reliance on local-authority-provided home to school transport. A move to local bus franchising, where local authorities decide the routes, timetables and fares for local services provides an opportunity to replace expensive contracts with lower-cost alternatives. For many of the children and young people that use it, particularly those with SEND, transport is not just about going from A to B but also about gaining independence. Ensuring bus services better meet the needs of pupils will require coordination between transport and education authorities. There are some good examples of coordination and collaboration between local authority SEND and transport teams already, but the Department could do more to promote this. Safer walking and cycling routes to school could reduce reliance on home to school transport and offer benefits to the community as a whole, while 5 resetting expectations about what travel assistance looks like beyond a door-to-door service could also create savings. For example, rather than a taxi from home to school, it could be transport from home to a bus stop or from a bus stop to a place of education. recommendation In its Treasury Minute response, the Department should set out how it is working with the local government sector and with other government departments, such as DfT, to better integrate education and transport planning in all local authorities and harness the benefits that improved local transport can have on home to school transport. 6 1 Overseeing home to school transport Introduction
Government Response
Response Pending
HM Government
Response Pending
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented The Bus Services Act 2025 puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders, enabling them to shape services that best meet the needs of their local communities. DfE will work with DfT to ensure that transport to schools and education settings is considered in drafting the guidance and secondary legislation they will deliver to support the Act. DfE has worked with the Department for Transport to ensure that Better Connected, a strategy for integrated transport, takes account of transport to schools and education settings and encourages local transport authorities to integrate home-to-school transport with wider public transport networks, reducing costs and improving service provision and frequency. It also emphasises the importance improving the reliability, accessibility and safety of public transport and creating safer streets to support walking, wheeling and cycling. This will be reflected in guidance for Local Transport Authorities which will encourage authorities to consider transport to schools and education settings in their Local Transport Plans, and to work with education departments to ensure joined-up planning locally. The government’s investment in walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure, including safer routes to schools, will promote healthier lifestyles and provide low-cost, accessible travel options for pupils and staff, increasing the amount of choice in how journeys to school are made. Together, these reforms signal a shift toward a more coherent, high-quality system in which home to school transport and post-16 travel are embedded within wider transport policy making and network planning, rather than sitting at the margins. 18