Research on out of area school travel costs
Received: 19 February 2026
I'm doing some research into the cost of providing scholl transport for children who are placed in temporary accommodation out of the local area but are still going to a school within the borough.Under section 508A of the Education Act 1996, local authorities must also promote the use of sustainable travel and transport for all children and young people of compulsory school age who travel to receive education in the local authority's area.Under section 508B and Schedule 35B of the Education Act 1996, local authorities are under a duty to provide free school transport to "eligible children".In each of the last five calendar years (2025/2024/2023/2022/2021) can the council provide with the total figure it has spent in transport costs ensuring transport for children in out of area placement to their school?Can you break this figure down by type of transport (ie school bus/taxi/public transport etc or any other type of transport).If it does not breach Section 12 can you also provide the name of the company that is providing the transport service on behalf of the council?If it is not possible to provide the information requested due to the information exceeding the cost of compliance limits identified in Section 12, please provide advice and assistance, under the Section 16 obligations of the Act, as to how I can refine my request. If you can identify any ways that my request could be refined I would be grateful for any further advice and assistance. If you have any queries please don't hesitate to contact me via email or phone and I will be very happy to clarify what I am asking for and discuss the request, my details are outlined below. Thank you for your time and I look forward to your response.Regards
Outcome / Documents
- Response (all information to be supplied) - application/pdf - Download